


To Make Me Feel This Way

by Gozzer



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Doctor Strange (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Stephen Strange, Canon Disabled Character, Chronic Pain, Cloak of Levitation (Marvel), Comics/Movie Crossover, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Guilt, Hurt Stephen Strange, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Magic has consequences, Major Character Injury, Marijuana, Medication, Multi, Oblivious Stephen Strange, Other Characters - Freeform, Physical Disability, Self-Medication, Stephen is a pothead, Stephen is having a bad time, Stephen is in pain, Stephen is the disabled character, Temporary Character Death, The Order, Wong is a Good Bro (Marvel), and not just in his hands, fibromyalgia, like a lot, medical talk, poor baby is constantly hurting, sleeping, taking medication, the man sleeps all the time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-02-23 11:01:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23710450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gozzer/pseuds/Gozzer
Summary: "Where is he Wong?""Sleeping.""Well, go wake his magical ass up. We've got some magic problems to take care of."|Tony comes to the Sanctum after dealing with an invasion of, admittedly cute, dimension-hopping slugs. The help he's looking for in Strange takes a little longer to get than he was hoping for.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark/Stephen Strange, Peter Parker & Stephen Strange, Peter Parker & Tony Stark & Stephen Strange, Stephen Strange & Wong, Tony Stark & Stephen Strange
Comments: 26
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is for my father who has been dealing with Fibro for a few years now. It's a constant struggle and I wanted to show a superhero with the same struggles. Even if he never sees this - definitely never gonna see this - it's for him.

The first time he passed out he had just gotten back to Kamar-Taj after defeating Dormammu. He stepped through the portal and promptly passed out on the bed in his room. The second time came with a muscle deep pain in his left knee and aches throughout his entire body. He woke up in his study with a cup of tea right by his trembling hands. The third time he decided he should probably schedule some kind of appointment to figure out what was wrong. It wasn't magical in any case that he could find. His entire body just hurt constantly and most times he had to rely on the Cloak to get even get out of bed. It wasn't just his hands that hurt nowadays, it was his shoulders and elbows and knees and feet; it was pretty much everything. 

Christine had introduced him to a good set of doctors but it still took close to a year to determine what was actually wrong with him. He had pushed his body too much and now it didn't know how to cope. Fibromyalgia, that's what he was "diagnosed" with. In short terms it was overall muscle pain and tenderness. His body basically said 'fuck you' to him. He was left to deal and figure out which medication to take to help what while also dealing with the side-effects of those medicines. Several had helped for a short term before the effects built to be more than he could handle. Then his doctors switched him to something else. For two years he tried to find a combination that both worked and didn't hinder him too much. He finally had somewhat stable concoction that not only included regular medication, but he found that marijuana actually helped more than the pain pills most of the time. It was a struggle to convince himself he needed it. The plant tended to muddle his thoughts when he was in college but the pros of it taking away his pain out-weighed the cons. His stable "medications" could only help so much when a space Titan was threatening the entire universe, though. 

When Banner crashed through the roof of the Sanctum Stephen was having a good day. His muscles didn't hurt, his hands didn't tremble, and he could walk on his own. He had take his medicine and smoked more than he used too before deciding on what to do for lunch. Most days he hardly ate but he actually felt somewhat hungry that afternoon. It was ruined, of course. Everything was post-poned to deal with this new threat. 

He blocked his pain as much as he could to help in fighting the Maw but he was quite upset when he passed out. Waking up surrounded by little glass needles was not exciting in the least. They hurt so goddamned much. Each entry point burned tenfold to what it probably should have; but his body no longer knows how to process pain properly. He's pretty sure he passed out when the hole was blown in the side of the ship. But then he was being bitchy because of the pain and allowing Cloak to really hold him up. His body hurt and he was too hot but there was nothing he could do except push through it. Because if he didn't then no doubt everything was lost. 

The crashing of the ship jarred him and then the grenade did nothing to help him. It took him longer than it should have to join the fight. He limped up with his shields ready when Cloak was back and holding him up again. Then he was outside and forcing his body to work. It hurt so fucking much, but he'd be damned if he stopped looking for a win. 

And he found two. One that ended in Tony Stark's death and one that didn't. Both required his sacrifice of the Time Stone but the rest relied on Stark. He didn't share what he knew had to happen or else Stark would try to stop him, so he let Quill make a plan for them all. It was absolutely terrible but worked somewhat. It hurt and Cloak was doing most of the movement for both of them, but they got through it. 

They had Thanos pinned down and so close to getting the gauntlet, but Stephen knew that that wasn't how it was supposed to go. Thanos bested them. A moon was brought down on Stark and Stephen forced himself to go toe-to-toe with the Titan. He had no hope of winning. When he passed out it was a long time coming. But he was awake again in time to bargain away the Stone for Stark's life. He was about ready to pass out again during the time they just waited for the end to come. It came sooner rather than later. 

Then he was whole again in the dust of the ruined planet. In so much pain that he nearly forgot what he was doing and what he still had to do. The portal was made down to Earth and he was nearly in tears from how much his body hurt. He ignored it and pushed on to continue fighting. And fight is what he did. Holding back a tidal wave of water so it didn't flood the battle field wasn't as painful as the rest of the fight. Practically sending Stark to his death was, though. A single trembling finger held up in answer to unasked question and Stark had the Stones. By sheer fucking luck Stephen was able to put up a wall to stop the water in time to seal Stark's injuries. The amount of magic and energy it took to coat the man's entire body and stabilize his organs long enough to get him proper medical attention was a nightmare. Wong was by his side as they moved Stark to a Wakandan hospital and helped him back to the Sanctum. 

He slept for three straight days. Then he smoked the entire fourth next day and laid in bed. By day five or six he was finally able to go back to his sorcerer duties. 

Five years was a lot to catch up on. Stephen spent quite a lot of time learning about all that happened to the world and their reality. There was so much to do that it took over his own problems. He worked and pushed himself to fix the mess of problems that had cropped up. His body forced him down more days than he liked but he wouldn't stop working unless he physically couldn't. More often than not that was case. 

For some reason the universe had decided to hate him. Their reality was being threatened again and his body definitely wasn't having it. 

|

It had been half a year since the universe had been "saved". Tony had been in the hospital for three of those months and the next three were spent in physical therapy for his new arm. Then he had stumbled upon a cute little purple slug while in Central Park. It was so small and entirely harmless, until a couple sorcerers dressed way too much like Strange had been showed up. They opened a dimensional portal and dropped the slug through it like it happened every day. It was odd then slightly worrying as they went about removing almost a hundred more slugs of different sizes from the park. 

When he asked what the hell they were, the sorcerers just pointed him in the direction of Greenwich Village. Where he knew a certain wizard lived. Needless to say he called Pepper and told her he probably wasn't going to be home for a few extra hours. Then he drove to the creepy old building on Bleeker street to get answers from a prickly bastard of a wizard. 

Before he could even raise his hand to knock he appeared in the foyer of the building. Shaking off the unease at the squishy feeling of his insides, he looked for Strange; only to find Wong standing there. 

"Hey, Wong." Tony glanced around the foyer and up the stairs. "Where is he? I'm not exactly here on a visit."

"Sleeping." That was a little odd. It was well past noon and probably closer to three or four in the afternoon. Why the hell was Strange still asleep?

"Well, wake his magical ass up. We've got some magic problems to take care of. A couple of your sorcerer buddies pointed me in this direction." Nothing changed in Wong's expression at the words. 

"Strange is having a bad day. I cannot guarantee that he will be down shortly."

"Just get him down here." Tony moved to sit down on the couch that he had on his first and only visit to wait. And wait he did. For almost half an hour he sat on the couch looking through his phone before he heard footsteps. He looked up to find Strange coming from the opposite hall looking like hell warmed over. Gone was the arrogant air that the man had exuded on their first meeting. His face wasn't shaved and his hair definitely wasn't brushed. Stubble covered his jaw and his black hair was messy. Not to mention that he was in sweat pants and t-shirt that seemed to swallow his body whole. And the fact that the living Cloak was wrapped around his shoulders and the edges wound around his wrists as if to steady the heavy tremor in Strange's hands. Then there was the prominent limp the man had. 

"Jesus, Strange. You like terrible." The man only squinted at him and moved to sit down next to him on the couch. He sighed heavily and leaned his head against the wall behind them. 

"I know." Tony waited for him to carrying with a witty or snarky comeback, but nothing came. Then Wong was coming towards them with a cup of something and a pill box. Strange lifted his head enough to meet the other sorcerer's gaze. 

"I know for a fact you forgot to take them this morning." The Cloak unwound itself from one wrist to take the cup while Strange held out a hand for casing. Tony watched wordlessly as Strange opened the little lid that had a 'w' on it and poured the three pills into his trembling hand. He took them all at once and washed them down with a drink from the cup. 

"Do I have any Adderall left? This is a day for it if I do." Tony lifted an eyebrow at the mention of the drug. 

"No. Your prescription ran out a week ago." And with that Wong disappeared back into the building, leaving the two men sitting in silence. Tony watched for a few moments to determine what exactly to ask about first but Strange beat him to it. 

"What'd you need, again? I wasn't really listening when Wong woke me up." Strange turned to him and ran a hand through his hair to try and settle the strands. There was a mild concern building in Tony at what was wrong with the man. The last time he had seen someone take that many pills and then ask for more was when his mother was in the hospital for a broken leg. And that was almost a life-time ago. "Wipe that concern off your face, Stark. I needed to get up anyway. I slept through my alarms this morning and my afternoon ones."

"Why were sleeping for so long anyway? And what was with the drug dealer amount of pills you just took?" Now he wasn't normally this nosy, but he was really kinda worried about the man. Strange stopped trying to smooth out his hair and dropped his trembling hand back to his lap for the Cloak to wrap around again. There was a defensive look building in his eyes at the questions. "If you don't want to tell me then don't. I'm just wondering why you're in pain." It was easy to see in the man's movements. Everything he did was trying to lessen some kind of pain somewhere in his body. 

"Nothing that has to do with you." Strange leaned back on the couch again but continued to watch Tony. "But I've been dealing with it for a while now, so don't bother trying to pity me." 

"I wasn't going to, but thanks for the tip." Tony paused for a moment before deciding to get into what he originally came there for. "Your wizard buddies dropped a load of purple slugs through a portal in Central Park. They wouldn't say anything and just sent me here for answers. So, answers, I want them." Strange seemed to think for a moment then a look of worry crossed his face. 

"Were the slugs doing anything? Like trying to eat you or anyone else?" 

"Uh, no? I mean the slug I found was barely the size of my fingernail. So if was trying to eat me, I guess I wouldn't notice." Tony was definitely confused now. Why would slugs try to eat him? Strange scooted further away from him on the couch and brought his legs up underneath his body. "What're you doing?"

"Opening my third eye. It's the only way to really see the magical properties of this realm. If there were enough slugs to be physically seen then there are no doubt several hundred feeding off the Sanctum's magic energy." His eyes fell shut and even his hands fell still. Tony tried to process the fact that there more of these slugs and the fact that they ate magic. "Oh don't even bother getting concerned or whatever. They are not generally malevolent. They feed off excess energy in their dimension, they won't hurt anyone." Yeah, that didn't really ease anything. 

For a few painstaking minutes they sat in silence. Then Strange opened his eyes and Tony noticed exactly nothing different except for how bright blue they were. Not the normal greenish tint that they had but startlingly blue. He was about to ask about it when Strange got up from the couch. And nearly fell back down as his knees gave out from under him. Tony leaped forward to catch him just as the Cloak flared out. Strange waved him off and started limping for the front door. The entire foyer shifted around Tony until he was standing next to Strange outside on the sidewalk. 

"Oh." Concern and worry flared on Strange's face. He lifted a hand and a slug the size of his palm came into existence on his skin. It was latched on his skin and rippling between purple and black and white. "They're starving." 

"And you're just letting it eat you?" Strange looked over at him with a frown in place. Not at him but at something bigger. 

"It's feeding off my magical energy." He lifted his other hand and Tony found two more little slugs on the back of it. "Let's get back inside before they decide that I'm not enough for them." And like how he appeared outside he was back in the foyer. Strange brought his hands together and a bright orange glow started in his palms that grew to fill the entire foyer. Tony shielded his eyes from the light when a shock wave knocked him back a few feet. 

"What the hell was that?" He dropped his arm to find Strange sitting on the couch again. The little slugs on his arms were all the ground but Tony could just pick out them shifting around. 

"I gave them all the magic they needed and more. It put them in a food coma, I guess you would call it. They should be fine as long as we get them back to where they came from." It was like a call and had Wong coming down the stairs. Strange got to his feet again and moved to join them in the middle of the foyer. "Een'Gawori slugs and they're starving. Where do they come from again?"

"Fandazar Foo. There's more magic there than in Manhattan, they shouldn't be here." Wong slipped on a ring after his words. Tony was teeming with questions but could tell that now wasn't the time to ask them. Something was obviously happening that was bigger than he thought. "Nor starving. It's the nexus point between dimensions; the world is over flowing with magic." A portal was being made in the middle of the foyer as Wong spoke. Tony stepped back as a world covered in ash and burned to the ground appeared. Smoke floated in the air along with a sharp tang like tasting too much spice in a food that hit Tony's nose. That feeling that comes with a distinct burn on your tongue and the back of your throat smothered his sense of smell. 

"Slugs did that?" He asked before he could stop himself. Strange and Wong stepped through the portal and Tony followed cautiously. 

"No, the slugs loved it here and they are not capable of doing destruction like this." Strange crouched down as best he could and dug his hand into the ash covered ground. "Magic practically grew here, but now it's all burned away." 

Tony surveyed the burnt and ash strewn land around him. Odd trees were nothing more than corpses in the still breeze and if there was grass it was covered by the white ash. It was a sad sight to see. Wong stepped around Strange towards a copse of burnt tree trunks. It drew Tony's attention. Lined and strung up were charred bodies of once people.

"Don't tell me those are what I think they are?" Tony didn't move any closer towards the corpses. His question had Strange struggling to his feet and moving towards the bodies.

"Wong, who are those people?" Wong was by the bodies and slowly letting them down from their posts. 

"Sorcerers Supreme from other dimensions. Magister Miracle from the 18th dimension. Zelaltrix Lavey of the Lower Aether. The Lords of Wyrd from beyond the Purple Veil." With each name and title said a body was lowered to the ground. Tony moved to help Wong get the rest down since Strange obviously didn't have the strength to do so at the moment. "This was an execution." 

"What has the power to execute the most powerful sorcerers known to man?" Strange asked. Tony straightened up and noticed the man conjuring a few shovels. They weren't going to leave until these people buried like they deserved. 

"I don't know. But whatever it is, we need to find it before it finds us." Wong got his feet as well and took a shovel. They had a lot of digging to do. 

|

Stephen hurt. He could hardly walk back through the portal into their dimension after digging graves for hours. The day was already a bad one and it had gone from worse to worst in a span of hours. And while he knew he was going to be sleeping for several hours after this, there was too much research to do to even think about sleeping. They had to figure out what could cause the destruction of magic on such a large scale. Then they had to figure out how many worlds and dimensions have already been hit and when it was going to reach them. He was thankful that Wong had ordered a few other sorcerers to place the slugs into another magic filled dimension that have no lasting consequences. The slugs needed a new home that could sustain them and he just didn't have the energy to deal with them himself.

Cloak held him up when he nearly stumbled onto the stairs. His fingers cramped and pulsed with pain that had him curling them close to his chest. Behind him he could hear Wong move for the library on the first floor which left him to deal with Stark. The man had stayed and helped them burying the dead sorcerers without a word in actual complaint. Even with his prosthetic arm that had to be bothering him he had grabbed a shovel started digging a hole. Stephen didn't know how he could ever repay the man. Not just anyone would help in burying people they didn't know. Sure, he didn't know the sorcerers personally but it went against his principles to just leave the corpses.

"You need help doing your research thing? 'Cause I'm gonna be honest, you look like shit Merlin." Stephen sighed at the words and slowly turned around. Dirt was caked onto his tennis shoes and on his sweat pants and stuck under his finger nails. He did look like a right mess. 

"No, Wong and I've got this. A magic problem doesn't concern you anymore. You're free to leave." He was tempted to just leave Stark there to avoid having to argue with the man. It was coming if the fire in the man's dark eyes was anything to go on. 

"Not my problem? There's a threat more than likely closing in on Earth, I feel like that's my problem as well. Magic or not, whatever did that-" Tony waved to where the portal was once open, "is definitely a concern to everyone. That world was burned to a crisp."

"You don't know how to deal with magical threats. The best you could do is go through the libraries looking for something we're not even sure what it is." Stephen paused as his brain tried to catch up to his words. They didn't make much sense and weren't saying what he was thinking. It was frustrating beyond belief when his brain couldn't process or find the correct terms and words for what he wants to express. Whether it was a side-effect of the medicine or the disease itself, Stephen didn't know. "We don't know what we're looking for. There's nothing we can do right now unless we figure out what it is we're dealing with."

"Are you sure you're alright, Strange?" There was definitely concern on Stark's face now. Stephen sighed again and ran an aching hand through his hair. 

"I need to rest, but we don't exactly have that luxury at the moment." And he really needed to smoke something to stem the pain. It had been well over twenty-four hours since the last time he had hit the pipe. It was currently still packed with a bowl from when he passed out the day before.

"Look, I'll do the research for now with Wong while you get some rest then. Right now I don't think you're much help," Stark said. Stephen wanted to glare at him and argue, but he knew he was right. He wasn't much help at the moment. No matter how much he wanted to work and research and find the answer, he physically couldn't at the moment. Anger started to burn in his chest that he pushed down. He could hate himself and his body later there was stuff to be done. 

"Fine. Wong's in the first floor library, I'm going to start on the second floor when I can." He turned away from the stairs and moved for the hall off to the left. His bedroom and Wong's were down this hall that held where the kitchen had originally been, most likely. "Kitchen is around here somewhere. It tends to move around." It was a hassle to deal with but he didn't really eat anything unless Wong forced him to.

"I'll try to remember that." Stark's voice followed him down the hall for a little ways. He went for his room and practically face planted into the pillows. Cloak wiggled around underneath his body but he only rolled over enough to allow it free. He was so damn tired. But he couldn't sleep yet, not with work having to be done. So he forced his body up and reached for the glass pipe sitting on the nightstand. He absolutely hated smoking and how much his body needed it to function even somewhat properly. It was kinda of depressing actually, but he sucked it up. This was his life now and had been for a couple years now. 

Half an hour later with a change of clothes in the middle and he was limping into the second floor library. Well, Cloak was helping him along. He could hear Stark flipping through pages the closer he got to the little nook area in the middle of the library. It was a sitting area with a couple chairs and a table. He dropped down in the red chair and waved a hand to pull a few books that could useful off their shelves and to him. The noise had Stark looking up from the thick book sitting in his lap. 

"Damn, you smell like you just finished hanging out with Cheech and Chong." Stephen glared at the man as several books settled on the table. Cloak pulled one into his lap before settling back down around his shoulders. Instead of answering he opened the cover and started reading what was on the pages. "Does it help? With whatever is wrong with you?"

"Yes." It was quiet for a few more minutes. The sound of turning pages was the only one to fill the library for a while. Stephen could feel the questions that Stark was holding back but he wasn't going to open up without prompt. 

"What exactly is wrong with you, if I may ask? When did it start? You didn't seem this run down before Thanos came." He could hear how Stark's voice caught on the Titan's name. That had been almost six years for Stark and only six months for himself. 

"It started in 2016. So yes, I was dealing with it when Thanos came." Those hours had hurt so much more than he did now. He heard Stark shift in his chair but didn't look up from his book. "Fibromyalgia, if you must know. And no, there isn't a cure. I just have to deal with it."

"How often are you in pain? And what type of pain is it exactly?" Stephen tried not to sigh at the questions. He knew they were coming, so he didn't really have the right to act upset at them. 

"Everyday, but some days are worse than others. Today for example is one of the bad ones." His hands still trembled and his fingers seized up with every page turn. "It's muscle pain normally. My hands are the worst because of the accident but a lot of the time it's just my joints. Like arthritis times hundred." Silence fell over them again. Stephen carried on with his research in another book. 

"What all do you take for it?" He finally looked up from his book to find Stark on his phone. No doubt looking up Fibromyalgia and everything that went with it. Stephen had done the same thing when he first learned of it, but now he just lived with it. When he didn't answer Stark looked up to find him watching. "Too intrusive?" 

"No. I just didn't expect the question." He leaned back in the chair and watched Stark shut off his phone. "Citalopram, Pregabalin, and Tizanidine. Adderall on occasions when I can't stay awake." At the confusion on Stark's face, Stephen laughed. He didn't expect the man to know what those drugs treated. "Antidepressant, Anti-Seizure, and a Muscle Relaxant. I use the marijuana for the pain. Opioid painkillers tend to make it worse in the long run. And I've no doubt you know what Adderall is." 

"Antidepressant? And seizures? Jesus Christ, Strange." 

"It's not as bad as it sounds. Antidepressants help with the pain and sleeping problems, but I was put on Citalopram for the depression mostly. I was on Cymbalta, but it didn't exactly help. And the Anti-Seizure medication prevents the sensitive nerves from sending too many pain signals to my brain. I don't get seizures if that's your concern." He might have been over-sharing just a bit, but he honestly didn't care. If the man wanted to know then he could know. He was most likely going to look it all up anyway, better to get it from source first.

"And you've been on these for two and a half years?" He gave a nod. Almost that long, there was some learning to figure out at first. "Do you normally sleep as long as you did today?"

"No. I have alarms set for when I have to take my pills and I try to stay awake after that. But on a bad day or when the weather changes rapidly I tend to sleep for a while. Well over sixteen hours sometimes." That was probably the worst part. His body didn't know when to wake anymore or just how long it needed to sleep. When the weather abruptly changes is when it's the worst usually. 

"Yikes, must really suck during Spring then." He didn't even know the half of it. For the past two Springs he had slept more of them than he had spent awake sadly. This season wasn't shaping up to be any better. Winter was just turning to Spring in Manhattan and he had already spent more time in bed then anywhere else. 

"You take what ya can get in my case. I work when I can." Which was now. He went back to his book as a signal that the conversation was over.

For the next hour or so they went through several books in relative peace. Stephen was half way through a rather boring tome when he fell asleep. 

|

Tony looked up from the book in his lap at the sound of a book falling to the floor. Across from him Strange was sleeping and the book fell from his hands. The Cloak around his shoulders fluttered slightly but made no move to pick it up. He took the chance to study the man before him. The black hair was still disheveled and a few chunks curled over his forehead. His hands still trembled even in his sleep. But everything else about his being was relaxed and stress free. He didn't look to be in pain or anything of the sort thankfully. Tony couldn't help the sympathy for the man. 

Strange had said he was in constant pain everyday. That he took three different pills for it and probably smoked more than a college stoner; Tony made that last part up, but damn if he hadn't smelt like it at least. Then there was the admission that he had depression. It was expected with what he had, but Tony still felt for him. And that Strange was dealing with this when they fought Thanos. The man had hidden his pain so well nobody had even gotten a glimpse at it. There was no doubt that he was in pain either. After learning what he had it came to him that Strange hadn't had any relief until he was dusted. Then he was brought back into the same pain only to fight again and help save his life. It definitely brought a new sense of respect for the man. 

The ringing of his phone pulled him out of his thoughts. He grabbed the device from the table and answered it after checking that it was from Pepper. 

"Hey, Pep. What're you still doing up? It's like three in the morning." He kept his voice down to avoid waking Strange, but got the feeling that the man could sleep through almost anything. 

"When're you coming home? You said you'd be back by at least one." Oh, he had promised that hadn't he. He closed the book in his lap and set it down on the table. 

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I lost track of time. There's something, uh, happening I think. Something dangerous. I've been helping the wizards figure out what it is." He got to his feet and picked up the book from the ground. "I'll be home in a little bit. Leaving now." Well, he was going to help the Cloak get Strange into bed first. With his muscle pain already, sleeping in a chair couldn't help. 

"Dangerous how? Like Thanos or worse?" There was a note of fear in Pepper's voice that she was trying to hide.

"Nothing like that, I think. We don't really know what it is yet. But it's targeting magic." He held the phone between him shoulder and ear while bending down to scoop Strange's body up. The man was far lighter than he should have been. It was a little worry inducing but he wasn't going to bring it up unless it got worse. There was no doubt he was going to be around to make sure it didn't get worse either; not with what was happening to magic. 

"I think that's a pretty big part of the world, Tony." The Cloak sort of directed him down the stairs and down a hall to a cracked open door. Tony could already smell the weed smoke that clung to every inch of Strange. 

"That's what I've figured out so far." Magic made quite a stance in this reality apparently. Down to the very essence of the planet according to one book. This world and realm was made up of both magical and physical energies that worked and fed on each other to keep everything running. Without one or the other things would get that much harder. "The wizards don't what was is coming, but we know that something it wiping out magic in other dimensions. And no doubt it'll be heading this way soon."

"How much do you think you'll be able to help with this threat? Magic isn't exactly your area." Her words weren't harsh for they were only the truth. Tony didn't work with magic, hated to have anything to do with it actually. But this situation called for more so he would have to push passed that barrier. 

"As much as I can, Pep. Any help is better than none, I'm guessing." He glanced around the dark room as he entered it. The bed was messy and unmade but that was the only thing. A pipe, lighter, and pill box sat on the night stand next to the bed that Tony avoided getting near. There was nothing on the floor other than a pair of boots by the door. Overall it was very clean. He placed Strange down in the bed and grabbed the phone with one hand. "Alright, I'm heading out now. I'll be back soon."

"Okay, bye. Drive safe please." 

"When am I not safe?" There was a pause as he pulled the covers over Strange's body and turned to the door. "Don't answer that." He gave a nod to the Cloak before closing the door softly behind him. "Bye, I love you."

"Love you too." The call was ended and the phone stuffed back in his pocket. Tony was tempted to let Wong know he was leaving but ultimately decided against it. He slipped out of the front door and moved towards his red Audi in the street. There was a lot think about on the way home. 


	2. Chapter 2

There was a knocking coming from somewhere. Echoing in his head. Slowly turning into the stomping of monstrous beats; like death closing in on him. Coming closer and closer, looking to devour him and this realm. A constant reminder of the danger moving through the multiverse.

Oh, no, the knock was actually coming from his bedroom door. Stephen struggled to open his eyes as his body tried to keep him asleep, curled up in the warmth of his bed. The knocking paused before starting up again. He lifted an aching hand to scrub at his face while he sat up slowly. Cloak fluttered off the bed to open the door for him. On the other side was Wong. 

"Stark is here again and so is the Parker child that came by a few weeks ago." Wong left him with that information. He blinked for a moment before pulling himself out of bed. If Stark was here that meant he was there to help and Parker no doubt was coming by from some other reason. Cloak left the room, probably in search of the kitchen for him, while he got up and decided if he wanted to change clothes. He should, he was going out in public today. There was an Adderall prescription he had to pick at the pharmacy.

Deciding against changing out of the dark t-shirt he just put on a pair of worn jeans. A cardigan found its way onto his shoulders as he reached out for his pill box. Cloak arrived just as he poured the three pills out into his hand. A cup of water was held out to him. Giving a nod of thanks, he downed the pills and debated if he actually needed to smoke today. He probably should but he ignored the glass pipe and made for the door. Today wasn't exactly a good day but he could walk around without a noticeable limp at least. His hands shook and ached along with his shoulders but it wasn't anything he couldn't ignore for a few hours. 

Cloak settled heavily on his shoulders and wrapped around his wrists as he moved out into the hall. There was chatter in the foyer. He could pick out both Stark and Parker's voices. They were excited about something but Stephen didn't much care what it was. The cup in his hand nearly slipped from his grip when he finally stepped into the foyer but an edge of red fabric caught it; and moved to put it on a side table. He sighed and fought back his irritation at himself. There would be time for self-deprecating thoughts later, in the safety of his own room. 

"You're looking better today, Merlin." Stark's voice pulled Stephen's attention to him. The man was dressed in oil stained jeans, a Black Sabbath t-shirt, and a gray jacket. Not to mention the pair of sunglasses. Parker was next to him in his usual jeans and pun covered shirt with a hideous yellow jacket.

"Yeah." He didn't exactly feel better but he had shaved at least. Little steps.

"What're we doing today, Doc? Something important?" Parker seemingly bounced with energy. "We're on Spring Break this week, so do we have a project to work on?" Ah, yeah that. Stephen had decided that when Parker visited he was going to have a project for the teenager to keep him occupied. There was a lot of stuff in the Sanctum that could hurt him and keeping him busy kept him from touching something. 

"Research. But I've got some things to pick up first." He started for the front door when Cloak pulled him to a stop. The fabric tugged him backwards and started pointing downwards. Stephen looked down to find he forgot to put shoes on. A frustrated sigh left him as he made a motion and a pair of tennis shoes covered his feet. 

"What things are we picking up?" Stark joined him by the door with Parker right behind him. Stephen fought down his urge to snap at him by pulling open the glass door. 

"I have no doubt Wong called in for my prescription when I ran out. That's what I'm getting." He stuffed his cold hands into his pockets and ignored his knees protesting his walking. Maybe today wasn't going to be a good day. 

"Prescription for what? Are you sick?" Parker walked beside him with a worried frown on his face. Stephen avoided looking at him and kept his gaze in front of him. There were a few other people out and about but the morning was a little cold surprisingly. He could feel it seeping into his joints even as he curled into himself somewhat. 

"No. It's nothing serious, Parker. Don't bother worrying." He knew that the kid was going to worry anyway. From his other side Stark covered a scoff with a cough. It was all bullshit of course, but there was no use bringing Parker into his mess. 

"Did Wong find anything useful in the first floor library?" Stark asked, directing the conversation away from Stephen. A spike of irritation threatened in his chest that he fought down. 

"How should I know, I just got up," he snapped. It was quiet between the three of them for a few moments. He took a deep breath through his nose and sighed again. "Not that I know of. We've only just started on the search." A yawn tried to escape him that he smothered as best he could. 

"What're we looking for?" Parker looked up at him with curious brown eyes. Stephen glanced at the kid then around the street as he felt his skin crawl. Instead of answering he forced his third eye open to see if something was around that shouldn't be. It hurt considering he didn't take time to do it. 

"Strange? You alright?" He looked around them at all of the magical parasites and other beings that lived and helped Earth along. Many of them were only there to help like the patches of glowing mushrooms that grew along the street. They kept the air clear from infestations. But he could feel that something wasn't right. Moving passed the benevolent beings, he looked for the ones that weren't. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was moving along like it should but that feeling of his skin crawling was still there. 

"It's nothing." Something moved near Parker's shoulder that had him turning to it. A little winged blue furry ball was moving closer to them. It was barely the size of his palm with two antennas billowing softly in its flight. He came to a stop in his walking and forced the other two with him. His hand came up to the creature clearly intent on getting to them. It seemed to freeze in its flying like it hadn't expected it be noticed. Stephen waited for it patiently even has his hand started to tremble harder. With the Cloak disguised as a scarf it couldn't exactly help to stabilize his wrist. 

"Doc, what're you doing?" 

"Shh." He shushed Parker as the kid's voice caused the creature to freeze again. This thing was obviously scared of something and Stephen had never encountered anything of its kind before. Maybe if he could get it to come with him then Wong might know. It's antennas flicked towards him before it was fluttering closer again. Little insect like wings beat faster to get to him. Stephen remained calm as it landed in his palm gently. The blue fur was soft and he could feel dozens of little legs holding it up. Lifting up his other hand he brushed a shaking finger between the wings. It made a rumbling noise not unlike that of a cat's purr. 

"What're you doing?" Stephen brought his arms down closer to his chest and pulled the creature through the veil for them to see it. Both Parker and Stark gasped at the blue thing. It shifted almost nervously and tried to curl further into a ball in Stephen's palm.

"It's been following us." It perked up for a second before skittering up his arm to hide in the folds of Cloak. "No, I don't know what it is, so don't ask. I'll be bringing it back to Wong." He could feel the soft fur against his neck and tried not jerk at the ticklish feeling it gave him. 

"That's so cool! What other stuff is floating around that we can't see? Is it dangerous?" Parker seemed to vibrate with questions. 

"Nothing you'd what to see and nothing that would willingly harm us." Stephen closed off his third eye and started back down the side walk, he still had places to be. 

The short trek to the pharmacy was full of questions from both Parker and Stark. He was beyond tired of them already. When they stepped through the sliding doors Parker bounced off to look around while he and Stark went up to the counter. They had to wait for a few moments before someone came up to them. 

"What can I do for you gentlemen today?" The middle-aged woman asked politely. Stephen gave her a fake smile and reached into his back pocket to conjure his ID without her seeing. 

"I have an Adderall prescription to pick up. Stephen Strange." Before the woman could ask he handed over both his driver's license and the medical ID that he had been forced to carry. She took them and checked them in her computer before handing them back. 

"Alrighty, I'll have it out for you in a few minutes, sir." As she disappeared into the shelves Stephen sent the cards back to his nightstand.

"How often do you have to fill your prescriptions?" Stephen looked over at Stark as he leaned more heavily on the counter. His left knee wasn't exactly up for holding his weight at the moment. He knew Stark caught the movement but was thankful he didn't comment. 

"Once a month. It used to be every three but with the Snap things had changed a bit. Nobody is really willing to give out medicine months in advance." It was a hassle at first, trying to get his prescriptions again. The first month was pure torture without them. There was so much going on in the world that he couldn't get anything until almost the third month. 

"Do you take an Adderall everyday if you have it?" The question had him frowning at the counter. 

"No, only when I need it. Yesterday I needed one and I should probably take one today. We've got a lot of work to do." The blue thing shuffled on his neck as if his words had woke it up. He lifted a hand to pat it gently to settle it down. There was no use in scaring the poor lady behind the counter. 

"I'm surprised you're even up and moving actually. We did a lot of digging," Stark said. The mention of physical labor yesterday seemed to aggravate his joints. He hissed under his breath as his hands cramped. He'd been trying to push that from his mind. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine." He probably should have smoked before he left honestly. But just the thought of it made his stomach turn and a frown crawl onto his face. Before Stark could say anything else the lady came back with a paper bag in her hands. 

"Okay, that'll be forty-five dollars." Stephen went to pull his credit card to him when Stark handed his over. The lady paused for a moment before taking it and swiping it through the register. A screen was turned to Stark for his signature then a two receipts were printed up. One was stapled to the bag and the other was handed to Stark with his card in the middle. "Thank you, have a good day."

"You too." Stark nodded to the woman while Stephen took the bag from her hands. He fought down his irritation at the man. He could pay for his own damn medication. "Pete! We're leaving."

"Coming!" Parker rounded one of the shelves and joined them at the door. Stephen glared at the back of Stark's head as they left the pharmacy and got back into the street. "Think we can stop for breakfast? I'm starving." 

"It's like eleven-thirty, so it's technically brunch. But are you up for it, Merlin?" Stark and Parker looked over their shoulders to him. He wanted to tell them no but both had almost pleading looks on their faces. With a sigh he gave a nod to them. Parker whooped and pumped a fist into the air in excitement. "Where we going, kid?"

Stephen trailed behind the two slowly as Parker led them to a hole-in-the-wall place near the pharmacy. It was small and practically empty when they stepped through the doors. He rolled his eyes when Parker picked a booth near the front windows. The place was clean thankfully but he wasn't exactly in the mood to eat. Stark paused at the table and motioned for him to sit down while Parker took the other side of the booth. With an annoyed sigh he flopped down and scooted close to the window.

"Hi, my name is Mary and I'll be your waiter this morning. Can I get you anything to drink?" A slim red head stood at the end of the table with a notepad in her hands. Stephen looked over at her to find a smile on her face. 

"Orange juice, if you have it," Parker said. Mary nodded and wrote it down on the paper before turning to them. 

"Coffee." She nodded again and finally looked over at Stephen with another smile. 

"And what can I get for you, sir?" 

"Just water, thanks." He ignored her and turned to look out the window. 

"Sure thing. I'll right back out." He could practically hear the wink in her voice as she said it. His eyes remained glued to the window even as she started to walk away. There was a shifting on his neck and the little ball skittered back down his arm. It fluttered to the table and waved its antennas at him. He lifted a finger up to pet it. The ball scooted over the table to rub against his trembling finger. 

"I think it likes you," Stark said. The ball puffed out and a small chirping noise left it. "And it doesn't like me apparently. Pete, your turn." 

"Oh, uhm." Peter put a hand on the table palm up and kind of just waited. "Hello, little guy." The ball spun around to face the teenager. Blue fur somewhat settled down but its antennas straightened up. All three of them watched as it moved across the table to stop at Parker's fingers. Almost like it was sniffing him the antennas pointed down at his fingers before it was turning back to Stephen. 

"Guess not." He held out his hand for the creature and it crawled into his palm. 

"That's rude." Stephen could practically hear the pout in Stark's voice. He lifted the creature back up to his shoulders and ignored the man next to him. He was still upset about the pharmacy. "Are you even going to look at the menu, Merlin?" A laminated paper was slid over to him that he barely glanced at. "Okay, you're either being childish or you're not hungry, I'm not a mind reader."

"Have you ate already, Doc?" Stephen glanced at Parker and fought off a frown. He hadn't eaten in close to two days, but he just wasn't hungry at the moment. 

"No. You can just order something for me." He turned back to the window and pushed around his prescription on the table. The pills rattled around in the container. Nothing was said as Mary came back with their drinks. 

"Are you ready to order, or do you need a few more minutes?" Stephen took a drink of the cold water to avoid answering. 

"I think we're good to order. Pete?" Stark allowed for the kid to order first before ordering pancakes for himself and Stephen. Mary wrote everything down before leaving them alone again. While Parker started talking about something from school Stephen moved to grab the Adderall bottle from the bag. He popped open the lid and let one of the little pills fall into his palm. It was taken with another drink of water. 

Stephen listened to their conversation without any input. His knee was actually really starting to hurt and his hands were freezing. They trembled more than usual in his lap where he hide them from view. Stark kept glancing over at him but had yet to say something. He was almost thankful for it, but he wasn't in the mood to be friendly with the man. 

For the next ten or so minutes he listened to them talk before Mary came back with their plates. When one was sat in front of him he gave the young woman a polite nod in thanks. She gave him a bright grin in return. After hovering for a moment more she was disappearing back behind the counter. Stephen eyed the pancakes before picking up a fork and poking at them. He really wasn't hungry but he knew he should eat something.

"Don't look now, but I think she slipped you her number." Stark nodded to the slip of paper underneath the plate. Stephen sighed and pulled the paper out gently; a set of numbers were scrawled on it in looping handwriting. He eyed it for a moment before stuffing it into his pocket to throw away later. 

"You gonna call her?" Parker asked somewhat excitedly. 

"No. She's barely over twenty-one." He cut a small piece of the pancakes off and stuffed it into his mouth without pouring the syrup over them. It made them too sweet in his opinion. 

"So? It can't be that big of an age gap," Stark said. Stephen barely held back the startle the words gave him. How young did they think he was?

"I'm forty, Stark." There was a surprised gasp from Parker. Did he really look that young? Jesus. He thought the silver at his temples would have aged him a few years at least. 

"Wow, you don't look that old! I thought you were younger than my aunt." Stephen laughed softly at Parker and shook his head. He took another bite before leaning back against the cushion. 

"Huh. You don't look a day over thirty actually. What's your skin care routine?" The joke had them all laughing. When they settled back down Stark and Parker went back to their food. The blue ball fluttered out of the Cloak to investigate but decided that their food wasn't something it wanted. 

For a while they talked and laugh until they decided they were done eating. Stephen had only take a few bites of the pancakes but he packed away the leftovers for Wong. He wasn't going to eat them anyway, might as well let someone else have them. Stark paid for everything and they were back on their way to the Sanctum. It was slower going considering Stephen was now fighting a noticeable limp. He knew Parker was fighting down the urge to ask about it but he wasn't going to say anything. The Adderall was already kicking in, he could think more clearly than he was at the pharmacy. Which meant he had to thank Stark for paying for him. 

They made it back to the Sanctum without incident thankfully. The leftovers were handed over to Wong in the first floor library before Stephen went for his room. He pointed Stark and Parker towards the second floor saying he'd be up in a few minutes. It was going to be longer than that. He forced himself to at least smoke some to stem the pain and help his limp before going back to Wong. They had to figure out what the little blue creature still with him was. 

"Wong." He called out to the other sorcerer as he stepped back into the shelves. His hand gently picked up the blue fur ball while moving for where he could hear Wong moving around. "Have you seen anything like this creature before?" Wong turned away from his pile of books towards him. His eyes found the little creature and he came to a stop. 

"No, I haven't. Where did you find it, Strange?" A hand reached out for the creature only to have it puff out and chirp angrily. Wings beat furiously but it didn't lift off of Stephen's palm. 

"It was following me on the way to the pharmacy." The ball settled down at the sound of his voice. Its fur flattened out once more and its wings came to a stop. "I don't think it likes you." 

"You must be careful with these things, Strange. With something going around destroying magic we don't know what could be running from it, or what's causing it." Wong continued to watch the creature closely before turning his gaze on Stephen. "Keep a close watch on it. I'll ask a few other masters if they've encountered something like it. For now, be careful."

"When am I not careful, Wong?" Stephen gave him a grin as he knew those words were a lie. Without saying anything else he placed the creature back on his shoulder and left the rows of shelves. 

|

Tony went about the second floor library picking out books that might seem useful. He directed Peter to do the same before moving through the shelves. There was so much to go through that even with four of them looking it was going to take days to possibly find an answer. They didn't even really have a clue on what they were looking for either. Like finding a specific needle in a needle stack.

For close to half an hour the library was quiet. He could hear Peter moving around a few shelves away but there was no other sound. Then he could pick out heavy foot steps on the stairs. They moved closer and closer into the library. He took the books he already had and started back to the little sitting area he was in last night. The foot steps followed the same path before turning off where Peter was, and pausing.

"No! Don't open that one!" Strange's shout and running had Tony dropping his books. His heart picked up speed at the urgency in Strange's voice. He raced for where Peter was as a heavy thump sounded through the shelves. Rounding the corner he found Peter staring wide-eyed at Strange, who was leaning heavily on a shelf with a thick book pressed to his chest. The man's breathing was flighty and a little panicked but Tony only saw confusion painting his features. 

"What's going on? Why were you shouting, Strange?" He moved closer to join the stunned teenager and wizard. Strange loosened his hold on the book and ignored them both by staring at the cover. All Tony could see was heavy black lettering on the pale cover but he wasn't close enough to read it. "What is that?"

"I don't know. He just said not to open it but I ended up dropping it. It opened on its own." Peter was shaking slightly from the scare but he was already calming down. 

"Go get Wong, would you Parker?" Strange thumbed the cover of the book and didn't look up. "Now, please." Peter looked to Tony for guidance. He gave the kid a nod and soon he was running through the library for the stairs. 

"What's going on, Strange?" The wizard opened his mouth to say something when his knee gave out on him. Tony reached out to catch him as he slid down to floor with the book still clutched in his pale hands. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Strange didn't bother trying to get up as he set the book in his lap gently. Tony eyed him for a moment before crouching down. There was obviously something wrong with the book and him. Concern started to bubble in his chest. He reached out for the book and Strange tightened his grip on it. Scarred fingers shook with the force but he didn't loosen them despite the pain it was no doubt causing him.

"Okay, you need to calm down, Merlin. Whatever happened isn't worth hurting yourself over." He reached for the book again only to get Strange pulling it away. The man glared up at him but at least loosened his grip. Foot steps started up and moved closer to their position. Tony looked up to find Wong and Peter coming towards them. 

"The _Grimoire Of Watoomb._ " Wong said while crouching down as well. Strange flipped over the cover and Tony didn't miss the small flinch both men did when it fell open. Absolutely nothing happened. "Hand it over, Strange." 

"What is all of this about?" Tony asked, still confused about what all this worrying was about. It was a book. Strange looked at him with a frown on his face. 

"That book is full of magic. It's source comes from the Temple of Watoomb, and normally when the book is open winds more powerful than a hurricane come through." Strange lifted a hand to point to the still open book; where nothing was happening. "It's completely quiet. It's magic is simply gone."

"There is no magic left within its pages." Wong closed the book gently and seemingly cradled it in his arms. "Something has obviously happened to the Temple." Strange struggled to his feet but waved off Tony's offered hand, choosing to lean on the book shelf. 

"Is it like, dead? Can books die?" Peter asked, peering at the book with wide eyes. "Is someone murdering books?"

"Books. Flesh. Probably even magic itself," Wong answered. Tony grimaced at that. Whatever was doing this they really had to step up their searching game to find it. 

"We need to figure out what books have been affected and which spells. I have no doubt that at least a few of them no longer work." Strange pushed himself off the shelf and nearly stumbled back into it. Tony caught his arm and held him up right even with the glare he was receiving. There was a little chirp from his shoulder the signaled that the little blue ball wasn't happy. They really had to name that thing soon. 

"Yeah, how about you rest, buddy. We'll look through the books." The offended look Strange gave him was almost picture worthy. He fought down the urge to laugh. 

"No, you won't know what to look for." Strange tried to shake off his help but only ended up with Wong taking his place when he stumbled. Tony raised an eyebrow at him and got a narrow eyed glare in return.

"Rest, Strange. We'll take care of it." Wong gently pulled the other wizard down the row and left Tony and Peter by themselves. He looked over at the teenager and found a large amount of concern covering his face. Both of them were worried about Strange. 

"What's actually wrong with Doc? I know it's more than just what he's playing it off as." Peter turned to him with those wide eyes looking for answers. While he knew it wasn't his place to tell everything to the kid, he wasn't going to stop asking unless he learned something. With a sigh he just nodded for Peter to follow him as he moved back for the sitting area. He came across the stack of books he dropped and picked them up before carrying on. They were set down on the table and Peter took the chair that Strange had sat in last night. 

"I don't know everything myself, kid." It felt like a lie on his tongue, but he just knew that Strange was hiding something else from him. Maybe not a physical ailment but something nonetheless. He sat down in the other chair with a sigh. "But Strange as got some muscle issues. It's nothing dangerous or deadly from what I know." Peter's face scrunched up in worry and probably a dose of fear as well. 

"Will he be alright?" Tony honestly didn't know how to answer that. He didn't know Strange well enough to gauge how much his disease was actually affecting him. It looked like it hurt to even move but the wizard had come clean about the pain yesterday. While he had said it wasn't deadly, Tony didn't exactly feel that was true. He could almost see the way it was wearing down on the man, being in constant pain. In between the cracks in his mask Tony could see the dark thoughts lurking beneath. 

"I don't know, Pete."


	3. Chapter 3

Four hours later and they had barely made a dent in the books. Strange had yet to come back and join them. Peter had gotten bored of reading and went to bother Wong, who was working his way through spells. It left Tony by himself with the books. So far he hadn't found anything substantial. A few passages about other dimensions but nothing about how one could destroy them. This was only the second day of looking but it already felt bleak. 

"It would move faster if you were actually reading the right books." Strange's voice filtered through Tony's thoughts. He looked up to find the wizard floating upside down with a book in front of his face. The red fabric of sentience was wrapped around Strange and holding him up. "I could bring them to you if you'd like?"

"What're you doing?" He couldn't help the puzzlement he got at seeing the man. Hours ago he had been upset and in pain, now he was upside down and offering help. There was a flash of blue that proved that the little ball hadn't disappeared. Strange turned his head towards Tony and he watched as the man's dark hair sort of floated around his head for a moment. Everything about him defied the laws of nature. 

"Research. So far I haven't found anything conclusive." Strange turned a page in his book. 

"I meant why are you upside-down? That can't exactly be comfortable, can it? Do you have some spell that stops the blood from rushing to your head?" His questions earned him the sharp blue-green gaze. No startlingly blue that kind of creeped him out, just the wizard's regular eye color. 

"Oh, that. I'm not putting pressure on any of my joints like this. And no, we don't. I've just gotten used to it." Strange turned back to his book but not before making a motion with his hands. Tony watched as several books materialized on the table next to him. He put the one in his lap away and picked up a thinner dark covered one. For being thin it was surprisingly heavy. "I'd be careful with that one. It tried to bite me last time I opened it."

Tony lowered his eyebrows at the book. He couldn't read the words on the cover but he was pretty sure one of them said arachnids. It made him wary to flip open the cover. With hesitant hands he lifted the black cover to the first page. Nothing immediately tried to jump out at him so he took that as a good sign to carry on. A few pages deep and he found that the book was about a dimension full of magic siphoning spiders. Halfway through and he found nothing else substantial about them. When he tried to close the book something hissed then a little mouth full of teeth peeked out of the pages. 

"Jesus Christ!" He slammed the book closed and tossed it onto the 'useless' pile by his feet. Above him he heard a snickering laugh. "What the hell was that thing?"

"I never figured out. All I know is that it doesn't like when you close the book. I haven't opened it since the first time," Strange said. Tony looked over to find him spinning to sit right-side up in the air. A flush crawled onto his face from the movement. "So not the spiders then? Shame, I would've enjoyed fighting those again."

"I think you need to sort out your priorities." Tony picked up the next book off the pile. Strange made a humming noise but didn't comment. 

They read for another hour before Peter joined them again. The kid was bouncing on his toes with excitement. Whatever he was doing with Wong must have been interesting, enough to keep the kid for a while. Peter dropped into the seat across from Tony with a burst of giggles. Both Tony and Strange looked at him for answers. It took a few minutes for the kid to calm down enough to form words. 

"Mister Wong got in a fight with a swarm of books. The spell he was doing must have woke them up cause they flew off their shelves at him. They flapped their pages very angrily until he put them to sleep." Peter forced back another giggle. Tony wasn't sure if it was actually that funny but it got a soft laugh from Strange. 

"That spell only works in the downstairs library. I've tried it up here and only got a little booklet to wake up." Strange floated closer to the ground and set his book on the stack by Tony's feet. "It's not harmful, or particularly useful for anything that I've found. It annoys Wong when I do it though."

"I think everything you do annoys sour-patch down there." Tony closed another book and moved it to the floor. There was still nothing useful to be found. A thoughtful hum came from Strange at his words. 

"More often than not." A chirping noise came from Strange's shoulder. All of them looked to where the blue ball was flying up to his hair. Where it burrowed into the strands like a nest. Antennas waving about in a pseudo greeting; if you were really trying to see it is as such anyway. 

"We should name it!" Peter nearly reached out for it before remembering that it didn't like him. The loud chirp was enough of a reminder. 

"I propose Fawkes. Perfect name for a wizard's pet." Tony sat back to watch as Strange frowned at him. It was a little funny to see the normally stoic face so close to pouting. 

"No, that's a horrible name." Strange shook his head against the suggestion. 

"Pascal! From Tangled, the chameleon." A frown made it's way onto Strange's face again. Peter took that as a no and started on another name. "Flounder? From the Little Mermaid?"

"Zazu? Mushu? Genie? You've got the magic carpet already." Tony took joy in seeing a flicker of a grin on Strange's face. It was obvious he was trying not to fully smile at the suggestions; even as the Cloak puffed up in a good show of irritation. "We can go with Olaf, you snow queen."

"You both are terrible at names." Strange shook his head again but actually gave them a smile for their efforts. "Where even is Olaf from? I don't remember any Disney movies with that name."

"What?! You've never seen Frozen?" Peter nearly hopped up out the chair. Strange scrunched up his face in thought before shaking his head. 

"If Morgan ever figures out she'll be offended. Frozen and Frozen 2 have become her favorite Disney movies." Tony and Pepper have sat through said movies several times. Morgan adored Elsa and her magic, 'superpowers' as she calls them. Even begged him to rig up a machine that made snow for her. They got about an hour of playing with it before Pepper put her foot down. No snow in the house sadly. 

"You have to watch it, Doc! There's no way you can't!" Strange narrowed his eyes at Peter but avoided say anything about it. 

"We can name it Olaf, if it makes you two happy." Peter let out an excited shout that had Olaf chirping again. The creature fluttered out of Strange's hair down to his shoulder where it cuddled up next to his neck. Tony opened his mouth to say something when a pinging noise interrupted him. All three of them stared at each other until Peter jumped and pulled out his phone.

"Ah man. May wants me home for dinner."

"You need me to drive you, kid?" Tony was ready to get to his feet when Peter shook his head. 

"It's okay, the bus doesn't take that long." Peter hopped up and started for the library entrance. "Can I come back tomorrow to help?"

"I don't see why not. But only if you're going to help this time," Strange said. Peter ducked his head to avoid the eyes on him. "We still have a lot of books to go through." 

"Okay! I can do that!" Peter started for the shelves again before pausing. "Bye, Mr. Stark. Doctor Strange!" A hand was waved to them then the teenager disappeared out of the sea of books. 

Tony picked up another book and settled back to his fate of reading. It was beyond quiet within the library. He started to slouch lower in the chair the more borning the books got. There was nothing interesting or even helpful within the pages. Before he could fall asleep or call it quits a cup appeared on the table next to him. Looking over determined it to be full of coffee. When nothing immediately tried to kill him he reached out to pick it up. 

"It's just coffee." He looked over to find Strange had a cup as well. It was surprisingly steady in his hands. "Figured black was what you drank."

"Yeah. Not gonna poison me, are you?" The cup was raised to his lips but he waited for Strange to answer before taking a drink. 

"No." Silence fell between them again. Tony cut his losses and took a sip. The coffee wasn't too hot nor cold. It was actually really good. 

With the silence restored he went for another book. It had a familiar drawing within the first couple of pages. A family portrait of sorts. Of Odin, Frigga, Thor, and Loki. Scrawled underneath were their names. Tony didn't immediately ask about it and instead flipped a few more pages to read the contents. It was a journal of sorts by a long dead sorcerer. Apparently they had been around when the Frost Giants tried to destroy Midgard. The pages were full of accounts about the Asgardians and their 'magic', even a few stories that had been told. 

"You wouldn't happen to think that Thor might know something, would you?" Tony turned the book up towards Strange. Sharp eyes studied the picture for a moment before the wizard floated to the chair. 

"He might know a few things. Lady Frigga could have taught him and with Loki as his brother, it's possible." Strange held out a hand for the book which Tony readily gave to him. He flipped through a few pages quickly. "Do you have a way to contact him? It would not hurt to ask."

"He went off with the Guardians. But I can make something to get in touch." The book was put back on the table as the start of the useful pile. 

"Preferably quickly. We don't know how fast this thing is destroying magic or when it will reach us." There was no doubt about it reaching this dimension then. Tony knew that of course, but he couldn't help the little sliver of hope that it would ignore them. "Do you know where Ms. Maximoff is by chance?" 

"Why do you want to know?" Tony couldn't help the automatic spike of panic that came with association to Wanda. She had screwed him over back in 2015 and even though he tried to move past it, it still bothered him. 

"She is a magic user, is she not?" Strange looked up from another book. "I have doubt she would know what is causing this, but it will be after her as well. She is deserving of a fair warning. Not to mention that if it comes to a fight she would be a great help." Even with the excellent reasoning Tony was still apprehensive about bringing her in. He couldn't let go of his trust issues that quickly. 

"Probably the Compound, or Wakanda. I wouldn't put it passed Barton to let her stay with him." Strange merely nodded and went back to his reading. 

Tony took a moment to study the man. There was nothing different about him from the day before other than the color in his skin. And the blue attachment to his shoulder. For some reason it kinda creeped him out. Olaf had just showed up and decided not to leave. He wasn't sure how trustworthy otherworldly puff balls could be. There was an inkling of wariness he had about the creature. Why was it so persistent about being near Strange? And why did it not like anyone else? 

|

Stephen decided to leave Stark in the second library alone after another hour. The idea of going through the artifacts and relics on the third floor had hit him far later than he appreciated. He skipped out on Stark even as the man complained about being left behind. 

The dark third floor was welcoming. He turned on some lights and started for the open area. There was a lot of stuff in the relic hall and he hoped something would be useful. Probably not the weapons or anything in glass cases though, considering those were put away for a reason. He cataloged what was there and what they did before moving for a chair. It was best to go through them all one by one with the corresponding information to make sure he had everything right. The extra work that it would take was probably not necessary but it was better safe than sorry in this case. 

It only took him three hours. There was absolutely nothing useful within the hall. Which left them still just going book by book hoping to find something. By the time they even got the right book whatever was causing the destruction would probably be on them already. The amount of books in all the libraries from each Sanctum and Kamar-Taj would have them searching for months. Even with the parameters narrowed down to things or groups of individuals that could destroy magic it still left too many books and scrolls. They were going to have to either narrow the field down more or actively seek out the problem. Each brought their own merits and drawbacks. But where to even start in looking was a whole other problem. 

A headache was starting to build from the stress. He sighed and rubbed his temples to try and ease the pounding. There was a chirp from his shoulder that startled him. He had completely forgotten about Olaf. The little creature moved off his shoulder to hover in front of his face. Antennas flicked down to brush his nose. It brought a laugh from him and had a sneeze building. 

"Whadda you want?" His question only made it rub against his cheek. It purred while moving to settle into his hair. "Alright, keep your secrets."

Cloak flicked out a corner to pat his cheek comfortingly. Then settled heavier on his shoulders like it was getting comfortable as well. Stephen shook his head softly at them. They still needed to figure out what Olaf was and where it came from. He got the feeling that it was running from the same thing that the slugs were. Whatever was killing magic wasn't taking into consideration the creatures and life that lived and depended on it. 


	4. Chapter 4

For three days Stephen and Wong searched the libraries. They had informed the Masters of the other Sanctums for them to search their books as well. Even in Kamar-Taj they had yet to find something substantial. Parker was at the Sanctum everyday to 'help' but Stark only visited once on the second day. The genius was working on getting in contact with the Guardians to, in turn, get in conctact with Thor. There was a single response that Stark had come to inform him about. 

Stephen had done most of his reading while in astral-projection. His body couldn't keep up with hours needed and so he left his body to sleep. Each morning it hurt more and more to get up which left him sleeping the hours away. It was counterproductive but he worked around it. He was sure the only reason was because it had yet to stop raining. His joints never enjoyed the rain. Of course, there was an underlying current of concern. Even in astral form he could feel the strain on his body. Each hour that went by that he wasn't actually sleeping was weighing heavier on him for some reason.

During these hours Parker would be helping Wong. There was little Stephen could do when out of his body that didn't require exponential amounts of energy. If they didn't figure out the reason behind the destroying of magic then Stephen wasn't sure how much longer he could carry on like this. Just taking his meds was getting to be a chore. Cloak refused to leave from his side, and bed, unless he got up to do something. It was mainly to get some semblance of food. Wong had voiced his opinions on the matter only once before he was shut down. There was no time to spare for his broken body. 

This morning was turning out to be so much worse than the last three. Stephen curled up as tight as he could underneath his covers and Cloak. Shivers racked his body while his muscle cramped uncomfortably. Everything hurt. He barely had the energy and strength to take his meds. There was a moment that he nearly spilt the pills across the floor but Cloak had wrapped around the open case tightly to prevent that. With only a breath of air he fell back into the bed. He wasn't going to get anything done today. He had a half mind to see if he had caught something but there was little motivation to do so. Instead he ducked under the covers and tried to ignore the pain coursing through his body. Which was so much harder than it should've been. 

There was a questioning chirp from above him that barely had him peeking an eye out of the blankets. Olaf hovered over his face. Antennas waved in question as it floated closer. Stephen had spent enough time with the creature to figure out what each noise and movement meant. Right now, it was wondering what he was doing. 

"Go 'way." An indignant chirp met him. He ducked back under the blankets. "'M tired." 

A slight weight settled on his face. He ignored it in favor of trying to go back to sleep. But he obviously wasn't getting an easy day despite how much he needed it. There was a pattern knocked onto his door. Then a voice that he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear. 

"You awake in there, sleeping beauty?" He grimaced at the loud noise of another knock. "I can stand here all day, but we have some pressing matters. Ones you might want to be around for."

"Get the door." He poked at the blankets to signal for Cloak to get up. The loss of the weight made him shiver again. A distinct click of the door opening didn't get him to move more than peeking part of his face out. Stark stood in the doorway with a bag in his hand. 

"I brought breakfast? Peter ate a lot of it on the way though." Stark didn't move into the room but leaned forward to try and see him in the dark. "Are you even awake?" He turned to address Cloak. "Did you let me in without him being awake? That's considered rude in most places."

"'M awake." Olaf chirped in protest but fluttered into the air away from his face. He didn't bother trying to move to get out of bed. "Lights." Cloak floated over to the switch and flipped it on. He grimaced at the brightness and tried to hide further in the blankets. 

"You doing alright, Strange? Not caught the flu or anything right? Wouldn't want to bring anything home to Morgan." He heard Stark move into the room and closer to the bedside. 

"Doubtful." Opening his eyes again he blinked at the man. "What're you 'ere for?" His voice was muffled by the blanket but he made no move to get it off. In fact he was half tempted to slide under them again. Stark watched him that same concern coming back into his face.

"Something that can wait if you're not up for it. You don't look so hot, Merlin." Stephen didn't miss the aborted motion to check his temperature, like he would have with his daughter. 

"'M fine." He forced himself to sit up even as his body protested. Another wave of pain nearly grounded him. Cloak wrapped around his shoulders and helped him get out of the bed. Stark stepped back to allow him space. "Let me get dressed. Meet you in the foyer."

The clear dismissal had Stark beginning to protest but he left the room anyway. Stephen changed into his robes and gave up on shaving before exiting as well. Cloak did most of the walking through the halls. He ignored another shiver and forced himself to not curl into a ball. Every movement sparked a protest and pain. A soft fuzz settled against his neck that he flinched away from. It startled him more than it should have. 

In the foyer he found Stark conversing with Parker, who was balancing on a railing. He cleared his throat to gain the kid's attention. Two sets of dark eyes turned to him. Parker dropped to the first floor with an acrobatic roll in the air. Stephen only gave him a nod to signal that he wasn't in trouble before moving for Stark. 

"What is it that you're here for?" 

"Can't I just come to say hello?" At his tired glare Stark carried on. "The Guardians are touching down in about four hours. Figured you wish to be there."

"I can't wait to see Mantis and Quill again!" Parker bounced over to them with a bright grin. That faltered. His gaze turned on Stephen with his eyes narrowed in worry. "What happened? You're heart beat is far slower than it usually is. At first I couldn't hear it." Stephen blinked at him much like Stark was. Then he felt for his own pulse with trembling fingers, revealing a slow and weak flutter. 

"Hold still, Merlin." Stark pulled out a pair of sunglasses and sat them on his face. Stephen's eyebrows furrowed in mild confusion but held still like suggested. There was a hum from Stark then a frown came over him. "Your blood pressure is off the charts, and there's something FRIDAY can't determine." 

"I'm fine." He felt Cloak tighten around him and circled his wrists. "We have the Guardians to greet, do we not?" Stark kept watching him through his glasses while Parker looked ready to protest. "I am not staying here if that is what you're about to suggest."

"You can sit this one out, Strange. We won't hold it against you." Stark pulled the glasses off and let them dissolve over his wrist. 

"We promise! You look dead on your feet, Doc." Stephen narrowed his eyes at the two. He wasn't sitting this out no matter how much they tried to convince him. It wouldn't kill him. 

"The Compound, correct?" There was no way he had the energy to make a portal, so he had to gear himself up for a long car ride. He hadn't been in one since the accident but this was a necessary evil. At Stark's hesitant nod he sighed. "I hope you didn't drive a two seat car. I can't make a portal."

"Why not? Aren't those, like, the easiest spells?" Parker asked. Stephen forced down a shiver and subtly tried to hide in Cloak's folds. 

"Don't have the energy today." Without explaining any more he turned expectantly to Stark. 

"Yeah, I drove the Audi." They started for the door when Stark practically shoved the paper bag in his hands into Stephen's chest. "Breakfast. I'm guessing you haven't ate in a few days." There was a knowing look in the man's eyes that made Stephen self-conscious for half a second. Then he was glaring. He was just fine, dammit. 

The rain outside said otherwise. It came down in sheets that he had a hard time seeing through. A cold breeze hit him and he couldn't help the involuntary shiver. Or the way his left knee nearly gave out and had him grabbing the door frame. Cloak didn't even bother turning into a scarf and instead practically cocooned him. Which he was thankful for as the breeze stopped. He was grateful that Stark had parked right outside the Sanctum so he didn't have to walk very far. But each step felt like torture. His limp would've grounded him if not for Cloak holding him up. Once in the car though he pretty much curled up in the passenger seat. 

Just looking out the windshield had him short of breath. A clawing sensation started in his chest. His body shivered while a heavy tremor started in his hands. He just tucked them close to his chest and folded his legs into the seat. If he didn't watch then he should be fine. It wouldn't hurt to get more sleep. Even if his body tried to shove him back out of the car and his lungs never seemed to get enough air. He needed to do this. The conversation between Stark and Parker drew his attention for half a second before he was focusing on the window again. Rain drops rolled down the glass like they had that night. The patter on the window, the swish of the windshield wipers, a man's voice over the phone, a screech of tires, over-correcting movements, a thick concrete barrier being slammed into, tumbling and falling, pain, so much pain. 

"Strange? Hey, buddy, deep breaths alright?" He couldn't tear his eyes away from the glass. Even as he wished to be anywhere else. "Can I see your hand?" His hands twinged with pain as he curled them into tight fists. Then he forced through the terror to drop one from his chest. Warm and gentle fingers picked up his trembling and scarred ones. They were pressed against a slowly rising and falling chest. "Following my breathing, Strange."

He consciously slowed his breathing to match the even movement. The memories still flashed through his mind but they were slowing down. His chest still ached and his throat burned. He finally pulled his eyes away from the rain drops and glass to look at Stark. The simmering panic kept trying to rise up that he pushed back down. He was fine. 

Taking back his hand, he curled tighter into himself. Eyes closed against everything around him, he ignored Stark's attempts to gain his attention. He pushed away the crash and painful anxiety to get some sleep. 

Almost two hours and Stephen was being woken up by a heavy hand on his shoulder. An angry chirp came from Cloak's folds that revealed Olaf hadn't stayed behind. He opened his eyes to be greeted by more rain. A sprinkle compared to the monsoon from the city. It came with that distinct ozone scent and wet grass. He quite liked that smell actually. The hand on his shoulder pulled away and caught his attention. Outside the open passenger side door stood Stark. Little drops of water coated his hair and peppered his face. 

"Rise and shine, princess, we're here. And you're eating breakfast if I have to feed you myself." Stark paused for a moment before sighing. "Since when did I become the mother hen?" 

"Guessing around the time your daughter was born," Stephen muttered. He was tired and achy. But he rolled out of the car anyway to be met with the same bag in the chest. "Alright, fine." Cloak took the bag and tilted it to allow the sandwich inside to fall into his hands. "This better not have sausage on it."

"Something against sausage? Did a pig eat your normal clothes?" Stark closed the car door and started for the open lawn. Stephen frowned and moved after him. He could see Parker watching the sky almost impatiently. 

"No. I just don't like it." He took a bite of the sandwich and was relieve to find only egg and cheese. His stomach turned at the thought of eating meat at the moment. The rain dripped down his face and down his neck into his robes. Which made him shiver again. 

"According to my scans your core temperature is too low," Stark said. They reached Parker and Stephen swept away the rest of the sandwich and bag. He wasn't hungry. It would be back at the Sanctum if he wanted something later. "You got a spell to warm yourself up?"

"No." He stuffed his hands into Cloak's red fabric and huddled closer to himself. His knee tried to give out again but Cloak caught him before he could fall. Everything was aching and begging for him to sit down. Thankfully the sound of something big coming closer pulled him away from his pain. 

A giant space ship was moving through the sky for their general location. Stephen staggered back a step as something vaguely stabbing like hit his muscles. Black dots edged on his vision as the ship lowered to the ground. His breath stuttered in his lungs when they seized for a moment. There was the sound of the ramp coming down but he couldn't focus. The urge to vomit tried to crawl up his throat. He shuddered and nearly lost his balance. A second of clear vision allowed him to see a group of figures coming down the ramp. There was the sound of voices but he couldn't make out the words. A hand touching his shoulder had him faltering. Then the black spots covered his sight. 

|

The landing of the Benetar shook the ground. Tony watched the group of space criminals, and Thor, start down the ramp. Peter called out to them and got Quill and Thor answering eagerly. He opened his mouth to say a greeting when a warning signal flashed over his vision. Bright and blaring red. Turning away from the Guardians he face Strange. Who was paler than paper and shaking like a leaf in the wind. He touched his shoulder gently and watched in fear as the man passed out. The red fabric of destiny caught his limp body easily but waved its collar at him. 

"FRIDAY, what happened? Did something trigger this?" He motioned for the Cloak to lay out like a stretcher in the air. A full body scan showed a glowing red outline around Strange's body, and several joints in dull orange. He felt for a pulse even as a heart rate monitor appeared in the corner of the glasses. A weak and erratic pulse met his fingers. 

"I cannot determine a cause for this, boss. The energy reading around his body is above normal even for the readings I took of his usual. There was no connection to Strange fainting and the energy spike." FRIDAY's Irish accent filtered into the air from the glasses. 

"Alert medical and Wong if he has a phone. We don't know if this medical or magical yet." Tony looked over at the small crowd while FRIDAY confirmed the requests. "Pete, can you show the Guardians where they can stay for now? I'll take care of Snow White here." 

"Do you know what happened? He didn't look great this morning or in the car, is it about his...thing? Or worse?" The kid looked like he wanted to come closer but held himself back. 

"I don't know, kid. But I'll figure it out. The wizard doesn't get to die on us now." He gave the Guardians a nod before directing the Cloak towards the newly rebuilt Compound. It wasn't finished yet but most of it was in working order again, including the medical facilities. 

Once in a room the nurses and doctors on staff were quick to get to work. Tony stayed by the door as they stabilized Strange's condition, and fought with an angry Olaf. The creature was puffed up and doing something close to hissing on his forehead. It would have been a funny sight at any other time. Right now it was vaguely worrying. The scans on his glasses included the puff-ball with a dark patch that was pulling the red energy towards it. He frowned at the readings and moved closer to Strange. Olaf puffed up more and turned its hissing on him. More red energy was draining away. Whether that was a good thing or not, Tony couldn't tell yet. 

"We don't know anything yet, Mr. Stark. But we're going to run a few blood tests to start with it." The head doctor, that Tony couldn't remember the name of, was the last one left in the room. "If that doesn't come up with anything we'll move on to CAT scans and other body scans."

"Get it done quick as you can, will you?" He kept the worry from hardening his tone. This doctor didn't deserve to be ordered around like that; she was just doing her job. A head was dipped in acknowledgement before she was leaving the room. 

Tony sat on the chair next to the bed and pulled out his phone to work on Strange's readings himself. Olaf had stopped hissing but the drain of energy was still happening. At a much slower pace than before but still there. He nodded to the Cloak that was spread out over Strange's body like a security blanket. A corner of fabric lifted to him before falling still again. Turning his focus back on the scans, he settled in to work. 


	5. Chapter 5

Tony had no idea how to get a hold of Wong. The sorcerer didn't have a phone and Tony had tried calling Stephen's to see if Wong was nearby. No one picked up. He called a few more times before giving up. There was only so much he knew about Stephen's condition and he needed Wong's help with this. 

The blue angry fur ball had yet to leave Stephen's chest. Tony knew something was off with it as the energy surrounding Stephen continued to lessen. It was dipping into dangerous territory now. Far lower than the readings that FRIDAY took the other day. Not to mention that it had been two hours and he showed no signs of waking up. While Tony realistically knew that it might take awhile, he couldn't help the concern. Olaf definitely wasn't helping the case, but he wasn't sure if the ball knew that or not. He didn't know if Olaf was stealing Stephen's energy on purpose or by accident. But either way, he was pretty sure the ball was the reason for Stephen's collapse. 

Which was why he was trying to get a hold of Wong. He pressed call on his phone again to try and get the sorcerer to notice. The scans in front of him hadn't changed in a few minutes so he felt confident enough to stop monitoring them. When the call went to voicemail he ended it and tried again. He leaned back in the chair and studied Stephen while waiting. The man was pale and far too fragile looking for how powerful he was. His hair was long enough to curl over his forehead with a few pieces curling into his eyes. Then there was the three day beard the man was sporting. It was clear that he hadn't had the energy to shave recently. Even under all of the sickness and disheveled state, Tony could admit he was a nice looking man. 

With a sigh, he turned back to his phone. Which had gone to voicemail again but this time a hiss of sparks came with it. He looked over to find a portal opening up at Stephen's other side. Wong stepped through but didn't let the portal close. Just as Tony was about to say something the sorcerer looked down at Olaf. Who was hissing up a storm on Stephen's chest. 

"Try to get that thing away from Strange." Wong looked over at him and gave him a nod before disappearing back into the portal. Tony blinked after the man for half a second then turned to Olaf. It had settled down and was puffed up like a guard dog. 

"Alright, little guy. Time to kick it." He got up and moved to Stephen's side. Olaf hissed while fluttering into the air. Cloak took the opportunity to slide over Stephen's chest and shoot up around the ball. Angry chirping and hissing came from red fabric cage. "That works, I guess." Tony held out his hands for Cloak to settle in before going back to the chair. 

The scans of Stephen didn't move but now the black hole above his body was gone. It was probably going to take awhile for Stephen wake up, so Tony sat back with an angry blue ball and a sentient red fabric. He picked up his phone and debated on texting Peter. The kid was probably worried out of his mind even with the Guardians to keep him company. His debate didn't last long as his phone started ringing. 

|

There was talking around him. Not loud but definitely not quiet either. He opened his eyes and blinked against the light above him. The voices didn't stop and had him turning his head to find out who they were. One was definitely Wong and the other was Stark. He squinted at them before lifting a hand to rub at his face. His fingers twinged with pain but he ignored it. 

"You're very loud, ya know that right?" Something settled heavily over his legs and had him looking down. Cloak lifted a corner to wave at him. He dropped his hand to pat it softly. 

"I've been told that before, didn't really believe it," Stark said. 

"Maybe you should." Stephen tried to curl his legs up to his chest but stopped when his knees protested. Instead he sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. His head was aching. He fought down a yawn and the urge to go back to sleep. Something had obviously happened, he remembered the pain and the feeling that he was going to puke. Both of those feelings were still with him but subdued compared to what they were. 

"Do you remember what happened, Merlin?" He opened his eyes to glare at Stark. 

"I had a flare up, why wouldn't I remember that? It hurt like fucking hell." Anger simmered in his chest but it wasn't aimed at anyone other than himself. They were supposed to get work done today, not drop everything because his body can't handle itself. 

"That was not the only reason, Strange." He turned the glare on Wong but didn't say anything. "The creature you brought back to the Sanctum three days ago has been feeding on your life-force. That is what caused your pain." 

"What'd you do with it?" The creature may have been killing him, but he kind of liked Olaf. It was adorable and like a pet almost. 

"Tossed it somewhere. It nearly bit me." He looked over at Stark to find him on his phone. 

"I moved it a dimension over without living creatures. It should be able to survive there," Wong said. Stephen nodded and offered a good-bye when Wong opened a portal to the Sanctum. When the other sorcerer had disappeared and the portal with him, he closed his eyes. He could probably fall asleep if not for the fact that there was work to be done. 

"Don't even think about leaving the bed." Stark didn't look up from his phone. Stephen narrowed his eyes at the man and was tempted to get up just to defy him. "Pete has already convinced the Guardians and Thor to come here. The kid wouldn't stop asking until I said yes."

"It'd be easier to talk somewhere else. This room isn't exactly huge." He started to move to get up when Cloak forced him back down. "Traitor." Cloak merely patted his cheek before going still again. Before he could do anything else the doors slid open. 

"Doctor Strange! Are you okay now? What happened? Mr. Stark wouldn't tell me anything." Parker bounded up to the bed with his questions. 

"I'm fine, kid. It's nothing for you to worry about." He forced his legs to curl into a lotus position as he sat up more. Cloak lifted up enough to give him the most unimpressed and disapproving stare he's ever gotten. "No one asked you." 

"You should listen to it. Just chill out, Strange." Stark put his phone down on the bed and Stephen caught sight of a few texts from Miss Potts. It wasn't his business so he turned his gaze away. 

"No one asked you either." It was his broke body, he could make it worse if he wanted to. 

"Is he always this stubborn?" A different voice had his attention moving to rest of the room. He recognized all of the individuals even the two he hadn't met on Titan. Which brought his gaze to the raccoon. 

"Only when I see fit." He resisted the urge to cross his arms, he wasn't that childish. Looking away from the raccoon, he watched as Mantis moved to Parker's side. She was a gentle being but she was also naive. Still so young with a lot to learn. "I would-" Before he could finish his sentence she placed a hand over his. 

"Oh." Tears came to her eyes. She met his eyes and gave his hand a squeeze before letting go. The tears cleared away but she still looked so sad. 

"Maybe don't touch people, alright?" He smothered the irritation he felt at making her cry. If he had stopped her faster or just sucked it up that his life was a mess then she wouldn't have felt the raging storm in him. She didn't deserve the guilt and self-loathing he had, the lack of motivation to wake up in the mornings. "Can we get started on what you're here for?"

"What are we here for again?" Quill asked, looking between him and Stark. "Nothing was said in the messages."

"We only need Point-break, but you might know something." Stark dropped into the chair and nodded to Thor. 

"What is it that you need?" Stephen shook out his hands and folded them into a pattern that brought up an illusion. It was easier to show than to tell in this case. The first images were of the slugs in Central park then he was shifting it to show what he saw covering the Sanctum. Thousands of slugs of different sizes covered the building, rippling between purple and black and white. There were gasps from the Guardians that he ignored. He finally showed them the burnt dimension that they had spent hours in. "By the Norns, what happened there?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out. Something has been destroying magic, at it's very core. We've been digging through the libraries to find something but so far nothing has come up." He would never admit it but he was nervous for magic. If they couldn't figure out what was happening then how could they stop it?

"We found a book about Asgard and the Norse, thought maybe you might know something," Stark said. Thor pondered for a moment while the Guardians shared a few looks. All of confusion and very mild concern. 

"I do not know of anything that could cause that amount of destruction. My brother might have known or my mother." The sadness edging Thor's voice brought the room down further. "But I don't know."

"Back to square on then," Stark said. Stephen sighed and moved to pull out the IV in his arm. There was work to be done. "Whoa, whoa! What the hell do you think you're doing, Strange?"

"I can not stay here. Not when we have to find what is doing this and check the other books. We don't know how much magic has been destroyed and we need to mark what is useless and what isn't." He swept the blanket from his legs and the Cloak tried to hold him down. The red fabric wrapped around his waist and refused to let up on its hold even as he struggled. There wasn't enough strength in his hands to pull it off. 

"It can wait for a few days, until you're better. Olaf did a number on you." Stark made an aborted motion to touch his shoulder. He turned a glare on the man but stopped his struggling. Anger flared bright in his chest. What right did Stark have to tell him what to do? But being a doctor he conceded that staying put was best for his health, even if he hated it. 

"You better not have given me pain killers." Was his only response. He curled up in the center of the bed despite the protest from his joints. The eyes of everyone in the room on him was uncomfortable. "Look, get out. If you don't have an idea on magic, leave." Half of the Guardians started talking but Thor ushered all of them out. Only Stark, Parker, and Thor remained in the room.

"Are you sure you're okay, Doc?" Parker was fidgeting with his hands next to the bed. Stephen fought back the urge to snap at the kid.

"Yes. I would be better if I was allowed to work, though." He gave a pointed look at Stark and Cloak, they were the ones keeping him there.

"I will offer my help, wizard. In finding out what has been taking out magic. My people have a very deep connection with it. It will affect us should something happen to this universe," Thor said. The offer actually gave him some peace of mind. He wasn't alone in this.

"We need to get back to the Sanctum." At the withering glare from Stark, he sighed. "But it can wait until tomorrow, at the latest. Thank you for the help, Thor."

"In the meantime, Pep is coming by with Morgan." Stark said, and the words had Thor lighting up. "They wanted to say hello, or something of the sort. Morgan's no doubt excited." 

"Ah, the other Stark child! She is very much like you, Tony." Stephen edged himself away from the conversation. He had never met Potts or Morgan, and no plans to do so. What he was going to do, was take the distraction and use it get back to the Sanctum. He would leave them to their 'family' time. It wasn't his place and, if he was being honest, he didn't wish to be a part of it. His family was long gone and there was no need for him to be around someone else's. 

"Yeah, they should be here soon. Should probably be there to greet them, actually." Stark got up and motioned for Thor and Parker to go to the door. Then he turned to face Stephen. "This doesn't mean you get to leave, Merlin. Pepper and Morgan wanted to meet you."

"If I am to be stuck here, at least leave me in peace." He just needed Stark to leave then he could get back to work. As if reading his mind, Cloak curled around him tighter and pushed him out of the bed. "Now you want to leave? Make up your mind." A corner lifted up to stare at him then shook out a no. "Then what do you want?" He had yet to actually touch to ground but Cloak let his feet softly touch the floor. The edge lifted again and was pointed to the door then Stark then the door again. 

"I think Clifford wants you to come with me." The Cloak nodded its collar as if shifted to settle on his shoulders again. "Come on, Doc. The fabric as spoken."

Stephen kept his mouth shut even as he wished to argue. Cloak would drag him out of the room whether he agreed or not sadly. He limped behind Stark out of the room and did all of his cursing in his head at the pain in his hands. They burned more than they had in awhile. In fact his entire body was aching. He let Cloak do most of the walking for him down the halls. 

The elevator trip down to the ground floor was quiet. He kept to himself and tried to come up with a way to get himself out of this situation. So far nothing was coming up. Stark had tried to start a conversation exactly once before he was shut down as soon as the words left his mouth. He was in no mood to talk or be around anyone. There was so much that needed done but he was here, doing nothing productive. This threat could be closing in on their dimension and universe and he wasn't there to figure that out. Sure, it might be able to wait a few days, but what if it couldn't? What if something happened while he was gone?

"I can hear your thoughts, Strange. It's fine for now." He turned a glare on Stark but refused to respond. Cloak tapped him on the side of the face to show its disapproval but he ignored that too. Other voices were growing louder around the corner. He settled his irritation with a sigh and continued after Stark. The Guardians were spread out around the room on a couple couches. Parker was talking about something in the middle of the sitting area with his arms waving around. Thor sat in a chair with a small dark haired child on his knee while a soft ginger haired woman sat on a love seat nearby. 

"Daddy! Pete's talking about you!" A childish voice called out as soon as they rounded the corner. Stephen held back his cringe. Children never liked him and he was never particularly fond of them in return. But he was willing to admit that younger children he got along better with than teenagers; though that was possibly because he had practically raised his younger brother. Teenagers just ticked him the wrong way when they started to talk back, like Donna had when they got older. He never much had a problem with young children though.

"Oh, has he now? And what has he been talking about, Moguna?" The child leaped off Thor's knee and raced for Stark. Who bent down to catch her with his prosthetic arm without an issue. 

"A giant library and how you came rushing to save him from some book! And that...that wizard was there! The one you talked about, with the living cape!" Cloak lifted a corner at the mention of itself and caught the girl's attention. An excited gasp escaped her. "That one! It really is alive!" 

"The Cloak is sentient, yes." Stephen said, pulling the attention to himself. Morgan's dark eyes lit up with joy and started to wiggle around in her father's arms. Stark put her down and she bounced up to him with a bright grin on her face. He struggled to kneel before her. Why do children always make him soft, even ones he doesn't know? Maybe it was the doctor in him.

"Can you really do magic?" It was stage whispered into his ear. A twitch of a grin tried to reach his face that he stopped. 

"Yes, I can." She gasped again and lifted her hands to touch his shoulder. Cloak lifted a corner to pat at her hand. Which made her giggle and shriek with delight. He turned his head away from the noise and gave the Cloak a nod. He should be fine without it for a little while. "Be careful. Don't drop her." 

The Cloak nodded its collar and swept off his shoulders. It wrapped Morgan up in its folds and pulled her up into the air, twirling her around as she shrieked with laughter. He felt hands on his arm as he got back to his feet. Stark looked between him and where the Cloak had Morgan hovering near her mother. It was quite a sight, seeing such an ancient relic acting like a magic carpet for a child. But everyone needed a break. 

Stephen tried to shrug off the hands and stood by himself. For about a total of three seconds before his left knee was buckling and sending him back down. Stark caught him before he could even dip down. 

"Let's get you sat down, Merlin." He scoffed but allowed the man to help him over to a chair. Thankfully everyone was focused on Morgan and the Cloak with the exception of one person. Potts watched him closely from her seat near Thor. Her blue eyes were piercing and searching for something, that he more than likely couldn't provide. 

"I can sit by myself. Let me go." He dropped into the chair heavily with a sigh. His body screamed protest at him but he crossed one leg over the other and placed his hands over his calf. Stark eyed him for a moment before moving to sit next to his wife, who had gone back to watching Morgan. Cloak lowered down to allow Parker up when Morgan started reaching out for him. Around the kids the Guardians were talking about something that Stephen couldn't care less about.

"Doctor Strange, right?" Potts leaned over the side of the chair to talk to him. 

"Yes." He didn't offer out a hand. "You must be Pepper Potts." 

"Stark now, but yes." Stephen barely acknowledged the correction. He knew that. It just got lost somewhere between his brain and his mouth. "Is that safe? For them, I mean?" She nodded to where Cloak was taking the two around the sitting area. 

"For them, definitely. Cloak would never let anyone get hurt if it could prevent it." It had saved his life more times than he could probably count. 

"Not to sound rude or ungrateful, but why would you let them use it?" Looking back to Potts, he found her still watching him. If had been anyone else he might have snapped at them but he held himself back. She didn't deserve his anger. What was the harm of her looking? He was mess either way. 

"Contrary to what everyone thinks, Cloak does not inherently listen to me. It's sentient and thinks for itself most days. It is my companion not just my relic." He couldn't honestly say what he would do without Cloak. It had been with him for years and through every aspect of his life as a sorcerer. Through the Ancient One's death, Dormammu, fourteen million futures, and more, it had been with him. If it wasn't sad he would say that Cloak was his best friend.

"Alright, time to give the wizard his living outerwear back." Stark's voice pulled his gaze. The man stood in the middle of the sitting room with Cloak above him holding Parker and Morgan above him. A corner flapped down to him in refusal. It floated higher much to Morgan's joy. There was laugh building in Stephen at the sight but he forced it down. "Merlin! Get me my kids back." Stark faced him with crossed arms and a laugh on his face. 

"I don't control it, Stark." He leaned back in the chair and moved his arms behind his head. Cloak waved down to him. He offered up a fingered wave in return despite the pain it caused. 

"You have been no help," Stark said. 

"Let them have their fun, Tony. When Loki and I were children we used to hide in the forests from our parents for hours at a time." Thor had a soft smile on his face from the memories. Stephen watched him for a moment longer before holding out a hand to the Cloak. The red fabric twisted in the air to come back to him. It tilted towards the ground and let the kids slide off the edge. Then it shot for him. A mass of red crashed into his chest before shifting to snake around his propped up knee in the form of a bandage. How it knew he was hurting was beyond him, but he wasn't going to say no to the support. 

"Happy now, Stark?" The man turned to him but didn't get the chance to say anything. 

"Can we do it again?" Morgan raced up to him and put her hands right over Cloak. Her grip wasn't tight per se, but it definitely wasn't loose. "Please!"

"Maybe later, Morgan. Let the Cloak rest, alright?" Potts intervened before he could. She held out a hand to her daughter but only got a pout in return. Morgan turned her dark eyes up to him. 

"Please? Just once?" He sighed and moved his own hands to grab her's. They shook but he caught her's anyway. She stared down at the scars then up at him before looking back down. 

"Listen to your mother, okay? Cloak will no doubt want to play again later." A red corner lifted up to nod in agreement. Morgan gasped at the movement like she hadn't just been flying through the air. Her hands left his to touch Cloak. He sighed and laced his fingers in his lap and just watched her fascination. She wasn't doing him any harm. 

"Let's leave the wizard alone for now. I do believe lunch should be our next focus," Stark said. He walked closer and picked up Morgan. 

"Define lunch!" She wiggled around in his arms until she was facing him. 

"Oh dude! I haven't had pizza since I was like eight, so that's my vote." Quill's voice had all of them looking over to him. He was sprawled out on one couch with Rocket and Groot beside him. 

"What is...pizza?" Mantis asked from the couch she shared with Drax.

"Like the greatest invention known to man," Quill answered. Stephen rolled his eyes just as Stark made an offended noise. 

"I vote to pizza, too!" Parker said while dropping into the space next to Potts. Everyone else gave a half-hearted vote whether they were for pizza or against it. When he was the only one left everyone turned to him. 

"I don't exactly care what's for lunch." He didn't plan on eating. His stomach turned in knots at the mere mention of food. Both Potts and Stark gave him identical looks like they could read his mind. He just met them with a plain glare. Whether he ate or not was not their concern. 

"Fine, pizza it is." Stark let Morgan slide back to the ground. "Find something to watch. It's gonna be a minute." 

"Frozen!" The little girl bounced over to the TV and ordered FRIDAY to pull of the movie. Stephen was tempted to dip out and head to the Sanctum when Morgan turned to face him. "Have you seen Frozen, Doc?" The nickname Parker used for him was odd to hear from another child. 

"Uh, no. I haven't." It's not like he had access to a TV or anything. Or the fact that it was a children's movie and he didn't have children. 

"What?! You have to watch all of it now! And the second one!" Morgan ran to his side and tried to climb into his lap. He bit back a grimace and just shift to put his leg down so she wasn't uncomfortable. His knees protested the movement but he ignored them. The girl curled her knees up to her chest and leaned against the arm rest with her face turned up to the TV. 

He took a look away from the Disney theme playing to survey the room. Most of the Guardians looked surprisingly invested, other than Rocket and Drax. Peter was practically vibrating in his seat while Thor looked mildly interested. Stark was still on his phone and Pepper was watching him. He met her eyes and offered her a shrug; he didn't know what Morgan was thinking, coming to sit with him. But Pepper only gave him a small smile and a nod of acceptance. He was tempted to ask her what she really thought but ignored that part of his brain that liked starting fights to watch the movie. There was no need to ruin the calm. Even as he felt that something was shifting around him; that this really was the calm before the storm.


	6. Chapter 6

"Do it again!" Morgan's excited shout echoed in the full room. Tony watched as his daughter leaped into the air with her hands out stretched. Cloak swept in to catch her while Strange made a quick finger movement that sent snowflakes shooting out of Morgan's hands. The little girl screeched with laughter. White flakes fell around the room and Morgan pointed her open hands to him. The snow hit him in the face softly and brought a laugh from him. He loved seeing his little girl so happy. 

Both Frozen movies had ended an hour ago with the Guardians dispersing into the Compound with Thor searching out the kitchen. Peter and Morgan were moving around the sitting area pretending to shoot each other with snow beams. That Strange was surprisingly providing. Tony just sat back with Pepper and watched the chaos reign. Strange hadn't moved from his chair but he was just as active in helping the kids have fun. It was an odd sight to say the least. He never would have expected Strange to be someone who went out of his way to make kids happy; or anyone in general. 

The scene was actually really domestic. Tony was used to this type of thing with just Pepper and Morgan, but now there were three new players. Peter he expected, the kid was like a son to him and an older brother to Morgan. But Strange and the Cloak were a different story. Just seeing how Strange and Cloak worked with Morgan and her Elsa fantasies was kinda heart warming. Though it did have him wondering how Strange was so good with children. He didn't seem like the man to have a family of his own or even siblings. There was no way Tony was going to ask, but he was going to wonder. Especially about how the red fabric even knew not to do anything extravagant with Morgan. 

"It's nice, isn't it?" Pepper leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Just seeing her so happy." He watched Morgan aim her hands at Strange and he let her cover him in snow. 

"It is." Another shriek of laughter as the snow was turned back on her. The flakes never touched the ground so there was no mess to clean up. "Though Merlin is a new addition."

"Mm. She enjoy's his presence. And I don't find him too bad either," Pepper said. Tony glanced over at her to find her gaze still on their daughter. Something in his chest warmed at the little smile playing on her lips. "And Peter likes him." Peter swung off the edge of the Cloak and swept Morgan up in his arms while she giggled. Both of them landed on the back of Strange's chair as the Cloak held their balance. Strange turned his head enough to raise an eyebrow at them before a gust of wind knocked them back into Cloak's clutches. Laughter surrounded the pair. 

"I'm not quite surprised for some reason." And he really wasn't. Strange had a strange presence in any room he was in. Never quite the center of attention but never forgotten or pushed to the sides. Though when he opened his mouth he tended to push people away with his prickly attitude. 

"Ow! Okay, okay, I think we're done." Tony focused back on where Strange was cradling his hands to his chest. Cloak quickly set the kids down and shifted to wrap around both trembling hands. It only lasted for a second before Strange was shaking it off so he could have some hand movement. Morgan raced up to his side and watched him with wide, fearful, brown eyes. 

"What happened to your hands?" The innocent question had Strange clamming up. Tony watched as the walls built around him but they never fully went up. Strange dropped a single hand for Morgan to inspect. 

"I got into an accident. Several years ago." Morgan gaped at him and ran a small finger over the pink scars.

"Was it 'cause of magic?" 

"No. It's what led me to magic." Strange took his hand back and folded both of them in his lap. Before Morgan ask any other questions Pepper stood and picked the girl up. 

"Alright, I think it's time to head home. Dinner time is soon." Morgan pouted up at her. 

"But I wanna stay with Doc!" Strange shook his head and with the help of Cloak, struggled to his feet. Tony got up while Peter yawned from where he dropped on a couch. 

"No, Morgan. I'm going back to the Sanctum and it's not safe for you there." Tony went to protest. He had only woken up a few hours ago and hadn't exactly eaten anything. The one partial slice of pizza he watched Strange eat was not nearly enough for a full grown man. "I've been gone long enough."

"What happened to taking a few days off, Merlin?" Strange looked over to him while putting the odd two-fingered ring on his hand. 

"There are things that need done and Wong can't do it by himself." At his glare, the man sighed. "Tomorrow, if that settles your nerves."

"It's not my nerves that need settling," he said. Strange narrowed his eyes at him but didn't say anything. He just turned away to make a portal behind the chairs. Morgan gasped at the sight of it and babbled out a few questions that Strange only gave a wink to before stepping through. It closed with a hiss and swirl of sparks. Tony eyed the spot for a moment more before turning away. He met Pepper's raised eyebrows and only shrugged. It's not like he could force Strange to listen to him.

|

The Sanctum was empty when he stepped into the foyer. Wong was most likely in Kamar-Taj looking through the library there, so Stephen just went for his bedroom. He wanted to work, he really did, but he knew nothing was going to get done until tomorrow. The missing flutter of Olaf hadn't seemed apparent while at the Compound, but now heading down the hall he missed it. Cloak patted his cheek and pushed the door open for him. He eyed the pipe on the side table but ignored it in favor of falling face down on the bed. 

Playing with Morgan had exhausted him. She was very energetic and he never really did have the energy these days. As proven when he fell asleep after hitting the pillows. 

The next morning he was actually pretty okay. His medicine was taken, smoked some, and even shaved. It had him in a good mood. He ate breakfast by himself because the Sanctum was still empty. With a cup of tea he was going through the bookshelves on the third floor to find what ones were empty and which ones weren't. Surprisingly less than he thought. Though many of them on the third floor were spells from this dimension, so that was probably the reason. 

Wong came back at around eleven-thirty and informed him that several of the spells from the 13th dimension had stopped working. They started back on the books again to find quite a few of the ones on the first floor completely blank. It was worrying. There was a growing pile of dead books in the sitting area of the first floor library. No magic was left in them. Not a single speck. He was about to move to the second floor to try there when his phone started ringing. Cloak slipped from his shoulders to grab it from the table; buried underneath quite a few books. It was unlocked and the call answered before he grabbed it. 

"Strange." He pulled another book off the shelf to find the pages still teeming with magic. The little slice of relief did little to stop the wave of despair falling over him. 

"Heya, Merlin. What type of work are you doing today? Thor said he was planning to come by, figured I come with." Stark's voice came through the phone, that he barely paid attention to as he re-shelved the book. Another found its way into his hands. 

"Wong and I were actually planning on visiting other dimensions today." In a few minutes, now that he was thinking about it. There were several missing spells and dead books from other dimensions that needed their attention. The one that was really worrying him though was the Temple of Watoomb. It was in this dimension and yet the magic within the Grimoire was gone. He should have checked it the second he found the pages dead, but he had gotten distracted. 

"Well that sounds dangerous." Another book still full of magic. It was put back on the shelf as he turned away. Someone was approaching the Sanctum doors. 

"What's the point of calling if you're going to show up anyway?" He ended the call and pulled Stark and Thor to himself. Both men stumbled but held their ground. "I knew you would be coming by."

"Would you stop doing that?" Thor shook himself out from the feeling that short range teleporting gave everyone. Stephen eyed him but didn't answer. 

"So, other dimensions? When're we doing this?" He narrowed his eyes at Stark and was about to argue when Wong joined them. 

"Now would be preferable, Strange. We have let this go for far too long," Wong said. Stephen felt Cloak settle heavily on his shoulders while Wong started several intricate movements to open a portal to the 13th dimension. 

"Try to avoid touching anything. We don't know what's causing this." He said while Stark tapped on the nano-casing on his chest. The red armor spread over his body. He looked over to Thor to find the god giving him a nod, the grip on the axe in his hand tighten. When the portal opened up Stephen bit back a sigh. 

The sky was dark but not because it was night. Smoke and smog hid the sky from sight that came from the burnt land before them. Ash littered everything. Trees were still smoldering as they stepped through the portal. It seemed nothing was spared of the destruction. Stephen brushed a hand over the charred tree branches despite telling the others not to touch anything. The sticks were still warm. In fact the entire area was really, really, warm. He could feel the hot breeze on his face that brought with it the stench of burnt flesh. There was no doubt everyone in this dimension was dead as well. 

Behind him Stark talked to his AI while he walked beside Wong through the mess. His boots crunched the rocks underneath his feet. Around them the area was quiet. There was nothing for the breeze to disturb to make noise. He kept a watch on the surrounding land even though it was a barren waste land for as long as the eye could see. The only thing breaking up the gray land were blackened trees. Ahead of them a towering temple stood out against the ashy backdrop. But the closer they got the worse the scene became. Tied and strung up to the trees outside the stone walls were people. Heavy signs of torture covered their bodies that he could even pick them out underneath the burnt skin.

He stopped before the bodies even as he heard Wong call for him. There was little doubt that these people were sorcerers and had been tortured and killed. His hands trembled as he clenched them to his chest. Dropping down to one knee he bowed his head. These people deserved a burial that he could not provide them. The best he could for now was pray for the first time since he was a boy that they're souls were safe. Then possibly pray for the rest of magic, because whatever was doing this had no plans to stop. 

"Let's go, Strange. There's nothing we can do for them now." A hand rested on his shoulder that was heavy and cold. He opened his eyes and lifted his head to find the Iron Man armor staring down at him. Cloak helped him to his feet and he shrugged off the hand. 

"We need to check the library here. See if their books are empty as well," he said. 

"I am sure their souls are in Valhalla." Thor said as an offering of peace for his troubled mind. He only gave the god a nod before helping Wong push open the broken doors. Splintered wood littered the stone floors from the exploded tables and shelves. Bottles and liquids joined in the mess. Even glass crunched under foot as they walked. Not to mention the blood that coated the floors the further they moved in the temple. 

They checked in every room they passed only find the same wreckage. There was nothing but death in this place. When they finally came upon the library Stephen could almost feel the desperation and grief within the walls. It seeped from the very stone into the air. He ran his fingers over the broken wood before bending down to pick up a book. The pages were shredded and empty of magic. In fact every single thing in the room had deep claws marks gouged into it. Pages covered the stone that were in turn coated in blood. Puddles of viscous blood were all around the room and some even dripped from the walls. It all made him sick to see. All of this devastation for the ending of magic; when magic was the thing keeping most worlds alive. 

"It's time to move on." Wong came out from behind a shelf. Stephen thumbed open another broken book while Stark and Thor talked and Wong created another portal. He felt Cloak pat his cheek gently before steering him towards the next dimension. 

Three more were the exact same scene. Burnt to the ground and devoid of any and all magic. Bodies of sorcerers were trussed up to trees with the signs of torture before they too were burned to death. There was nothing left in these dimensions for them to find other than the remains. The broken and beaten worlds that had put up a fight against this malevolent wave that swept over everything; leaving nothing but destruction and hollow places in its wake. Empty worlds that had once been teeming with magic and life. Nothing was left untouched. 

Stephen was a simmering pot of anger and grief. Those places had innocent people and beings that didn't deserve that kind of end. Magic didn't deserve to be snuffed out like it was the fires that had burned it away. Nobody had the right to take away the thing that kept entire dimensions from falling into death. That right has never been given to anyone. Who or what had it that they could wipe out entire energy sources? Remove magic from the very veins of the multiverse? The fucking arrogance and ego that it took to murder so many people in cold-blood? Even Thanos was fair when he wiped out half of all life in the universe. He hadn't made it personal and let the Stones do the choosing for him. 

Whoever was killing magic was making it personal. Very, very, personal. And Stephen refused to rest until he took care of the problem. 

When they stepped back into the Sanctum, Stephen had to stop himself from ditching them in the foyer. He paced from one edge of the stairs to the other. Cloak had left his shoulders the second they were home safe. He knew he was in foul mood. Even just listening to the others talk had his anger spiking. They needed to figure out what was doing this and where it was; not stand around discussing it. Their time was running out. 

There was still one place they haven't checked yet. The temple underneath the Indian Ocean. He barely made it up a step when Cloak was wrapping around his shoulders to stop him. The fabric tugged him backwards even as he fought against it. 

"Where are you going, Merlin?" Stark's voice made his lips twist up in a silent snarl. He knew nothing about magic and shouldn't be here. 

"To the Temple of Watoomb. It's the last place we have yet to be." He pushed the golden clasps off his shoulders and started up the stairs. Cloak appeared in front of him like a barrier against the higher levels of the building. 

"You shouldn't go anywhere as you are." A hand caught his arm. With a tug he was out of the grasp and turning around to glare at Stark. Thor and Wong were still discussing something near the hall leading to Kamar-Taj. "I know a thing or two about reckless behavior when someone's angry."

"What? When someone was encroaching on your business? Or was it when you and the Avengers destroyed New York? Maybe Sokovia?" The biting words poured from him. "That little Civil War? Go find someone else to preach to about your 'reckless behavior'." He spun around and ducked around the Cloak still blocking the stairs. 

"Strange, don't do anything you can't come back from!" Wong's words followed him up the stairs and through the second floor. 

He brushed away the lingering words as he went up the back stairs to the third floor. The portal doors would lead to the temple if he put everything in right. Before he made for the doors though he stopped in the middle of the artifact hall. With magic failing he didn't know which spells would work and which wouldn't, and if he was attacked he'd need something to fight back with. He was sure all the martial arts training from Kamar-Taj would only go so far. 

Taking the time, he went through the artifacts to find which ones still had magic within them. Most of the benevolent ones still hummed with magic. He passed them by for something that could actually help in case of a fight. If it came down to it he was going to protect this world's magic even if he had to do some rather unforgivable things. Earth would not survive without magic in it; and if it somehow did, then it would never be safe again. He couldn't let that happen even on the off chance that the world might survive. He wouldn't let it get that far; he simply couldn't. 

Cloak finally joined him as he reached out for the Axe of Angarruumus. It was a powerful weapon that he didn't want to have to use against anyone or thing. His hands would feel the pain in the morning if he really did have to use it. In fact his entire body was going to be on shut down for awhile if he had to fight. Already he could feel the protest in his joints as he walked down the hall towards the doors. 

Once in front of them, he went for the dial of the center door. Cloak held the Axe for him while he performed the spell that would keep him alive while under the water then the one that would make the door open to the ocean floor. Clear blue water appeared behind the glass when he was done. Fish swam past like nothing was wrong. He opened the door and took a single moment to study the water before slipping into it. Without the spell he would be soaked to the bone but he was perfectly fine underneath the waves above him. 

Marine life swam away from him as Cloak carried him towards the temple. Two giant statues sat before the white pillars that marked where the temple entrance was. They should be spewing lava at him to keep him from even getting close to the stone structure. But they sat dark and crumbled before the doors. An uneasy feeling bubbled in his chest the closer he moved for the dormant area. The magic within this place was gone like he feared. Gripping the Axe tightly, he started for the temple to search out what was causing the death of magic. 

|

Tony stared up the stairs after Strange. The man was pissed and upset, and rightfully so. Whatever had left those scenes behind was a giant threat and seeing all the death had hit them hard. After the first dimension hop Strange hadn't said anything. He just followed along after them with a frown on his face and fire in his eyes. It made Tony nervous for him. If they didn't find what was doing this soon he was afraid of what Strange would do in his efforts to stop it. Already the man was off on his own. 

"We should not have let the wizard leave on his own." Thor's voice had Tony turning around. There was something on the blonde's face that he didn't like. He glanced over to Wong to find the sorcerer performing quick hand movements. 

"Something is threatening a breach on our reality. The Sanctum's wards are holding for now." Tony tapped on the nano-housing on his chest as several golden lines spread out along the walls. A pounding started in the wide open hall to the side that had his glancing over. "Stay here." 

"Wait, where're you going?" Wong ignored his question as he moved towards the pounding. All three doors sprung open to reveal another sorcerer on the other side of rippling barriers. He turned his attention away and back to where Thor was watching the shimmering symbols coating the area. "What're the chances of you knowing what's going on?"

"Less than you'd wish to hear." The response got a rush of harsh air from Tony. That was what he thought. They were all blind in the water right now with Strange missing, ditching them for some temple. He really wanted to call Pepper to make sure everyone at the cabin was safe but he knew that it would only be a distraction. With whatever was coming he needed have his entire focus on it. He had seen the destruction in those other dimensions and if that same force was coming their way, then he couldn't have anything ruining his attention. There was no way he was going to let Earth be destroyed.


	7. Chapter 7

Screaming started up outside the doors. Loud shrieking in fear and cries of pain that caused Tony's heart to stop. Growling and snarling of large beasts rumbled deep in his chest at the sound. His repulsors whined as he started them and aimed at the door. Thunder and lightning crackled outside when Thor lifted his axe. Then something heavy was slamming into the glass doors. The golden lines criss-crossing the inside of the building shuddered with the force of the blow. 

"You got any idea what that is?" He asked, more nervous than he had been in a while. Another crash into the doors sent the building shaking. 

"No more than you." Thunder boomed in time with another slam. He glanced over long enough to see Thor's eye lit up a brilliant electric blue as lightning sparked around him. "Though it sounds quite like my sister's wolf that she had."

"What? What type of wolves are we talking?" Tony never got an answer. 

The lines and wards on the Sanctum shattered in golden sparks when the doors were broken down. Wong shouted something that Tony couldn't hear as a giant black head pushed its way through the doors. It was definitely wolf-like. Except for the metal plating between its ears and down its entire body; spines sticking up like a horror-show and the entire tail made of metal. And it was much bigger than any wolf Tony had ever seen. Snarls slipped passed its muzzle as it struggled to fit through the doorway. Not taking a chance, he shot a blast straight at its face. Only for it to shrug off the blow like it was nothing.

When they finally got past the doors and into the foyer they were greeted by Thor's axe. Tony shot up into the air to go after the second one that was heading for where Wong was. Pulling up a sword from nano-tech, he dropped onto its back and stabbed between the metal plating. It howled in pain but didn't go down. Blood dripped to the floor as it bucked him off with surprising ease. Lightning blinded him for a single moment as Thor struck one of the creatures. He blinked away the spots while moving to stab the creature again. It turned its head just in time to snap at his arm, sharp teeth just barely missing. A loud crashing came from above him that sounded suspiciously like a window breaking, but he didn't have time to wonder as the creature went to dive for Wong. 

|

The water near the temple of worryingly calm. It had always swirled with power and magic, to keep outsiders from entering if the statues didn't do that first. Stephen took a step towards the marble stairs when something caught his ankle. Cloak started to pull him up only to have the thing around his ankle keep him on the ground. He looked down to find a wire-like tube snaking further up his leg. Taking his Axe he swung it down, chopping the tube off. He allowed Cloak to move him higher up in the water and back from the temple. 

Down below he could see ball-shaped machines with wires and tubing coming out from all sides of them. Two or three of them at the least were coming out of the temple. Tubes shot up in the water after him that he moved around and cut off when they got too close. Whatever this was it was clear that they were the things responsible for the destruction of the temple magic. Throwing the Axe, he aimed right for the top of the machine and watched as the magic within it split the metal like it was butter. Cloak took him back down to grab the handle before it was too late and turned on another machine. It too was taken down with a single blow then the third and final one as well. 

He needed to get back to the Sanctum and warn Wong about what was happening. Before he could even start for the portal though something else came out of the temple. A creature more machine than wolf snarled up at him. Something in his brain clicked at the sight. He had seen one of those things before. Years ago, back before he came to Kamar-Taj when he was still a teenager. In an old dusty book in the public library hidden away in the mythology and lore section. With a sketch of a monstrous wolf with armor plating fused into its skin next to a single passage. A tall-tale of a beast that could sniff out the witches of the old world. That led villagers to witch houses for them to burn down with the magic users still inside. That could find magic with even the barest hint of a scent. The book had named then 'Witchfinder Wolves'. 

The wolf leaped off the stairs for him. He ducked the large paw aimed at him and swung the Axe up into the unprotected underside. It sliced through the black fur with ease. Blood floated in the water and surrounded him. A snap of a jaw right next to his head had him swinging the Axe again. Landing the blow right underneath its muzzle in the soft skin around its throat. The magic infused blade sunk deep into the muscles and windpipe, effectively silencing it. In a last effort to survive the wolf slashed a clawed paw towards his face. The very tips of the claws caught the right side of his head and trailed down as he flinched away. His own blood clouded the water but it would never match up to the entire red spill that continued to leak from the dead wolf. 

Not taking any more chances, Cloak dragged him back to the portal. The spell he put over himself was failing with his distraction and he knew he had to leave before it stopped completely. He stumbled through the door into the hall just as it failed. His face stung and blood dripped down his chin, but he and the Cloak were still dry. Downstairs he could hear more growls and the sounds of a fight. He raced down the hall for the stairs only to find a shadow falling over him. 

Outside the circle window another wolf climbed the side of the building. It came through the window with a large crash that sent glass shattering. Stephen was pulled out of the way of the creature but not soon enough. Large paws caught his shoulders and both him and the wolf went tumbling down the staircase. Claws dug into his skin and a muzzle full of teeth tried to snap at his face. He rolled away from the creature the second they stopped falling. The Axe was raised and struck down on the wolf's exposed stomach. It howled and thrashed, knocking him back while getting to its feet. Cloak pulled him to his feet and up into the air above the animal. It went to leap at him when he landed on its head while burying the Axe deep into its skull.

Pulling the Axe out sent a spray of blood up and splashed him. Already covered in his own blood he just brushed it off and ran for the stairs. A shout of warning came from Stark just as he made it to the railing. A wolf was making a dive for where Wong was throwing up a shield. Stephen pushed himself off the banister with the Axe out in front of him. He hit dead center on the creatures head like he had with the last one, the Axe slamming home in the base of its skull with a sickening noise. It dropped to the floor limp and lifeless. 

"Jesus, Strange! Violent much?" Stark's voice cut through the blood rushing through his ears. These creatures didn't deserve his pity. He stood up and pulled the Axe out of the wolf while meeting Wong's eyes first. They were watching him with mild concern. He turned away to step off the body back onto the floor. 

"I figured out what they are." Cloak billowed out like it wanted to wipe off his face but it held back. The scratches were stinging as were the holes in his shoulders but he pushed it away. "Witchfinder Wolves. I read about them when I was still a teenager. They can sniff out magic like bloodhounds." 

"You look like hell, Strange." He glanced over at Wong and just shrugged. He's been worse. 

"Do you know where they come from, wizard?" Thor came over to them, leaving his own wolf dead. Stephen shook his head; the book had never said and he hardly cared enough to search for more information. He let his arms drop and the Axe brushed against the floor, blood dripping into a puddle. 

"Okay, so we know what they are, but we don't where they come from or why they're here?" Stark asked, his helmet dissolving around his head. 

"They're here to wipe out magic. It is why they came for the Sanctums," Wong said. Stephen felt his heart stutter in his chest. If the Sanctum wards fell then Earth would be open to all sorts of threats and Kamar-Taj would be found. 

"Have all three Sanctum's fallen? Is the Earth left unprotected?" Stephen felt for the frayed wards of the building and found them non-existent. 

"We have fallen, but I do not know of London or Hong Kong. We have yet to receive word from their Masters." Both of them turned for the hall leading to the other Sanctums and Kamar-Taj. Stephen started for it while ignoring Stark and Thor talking to Wong. He stopped in the middle of the room and searched for the magic connecting all the wards together. New York was gone, Hong Kong was under attack, and London was falling. 

"London's gone and Hong Kong is on its way." He opened his eyes and started for the door leading to Kamar-Taj. That was the nexus point of Earth's magic. If something wanted to take out magic that would be where the attack would happen. "Wong, we need to go. All three Sanctums have fallen and Kamar-Taj is next on that list."

"Where is that?" All of them joined him in the hall. Stark stood before him. "If the attack is going to be there and your magic is failing, then you're going to need more firepower. I can alert the rest of the Avengers to meet us there." Wong looked ready to protest and argue.

"Nepal, Kathmandu." He answered, already knowing that they couldn't fight this on their own. 

"You would expose all of us to the world?" Wong's voice was hard and edged with ice. Stephen looked to him with a fire of his own. 

"To save magic?" He paused for half a second. Would he really reveal their Order to everyone? "Without a doubt."

|

In the remade Avengers Compound only the Guardians and War Machine were inside. A beeping started in the half complete labs. An image of the globe appeared above a desk with multiple spots marked with red dots. Places all over the world were falling. But what had the beeping start was a ship entering the upper atmosphere. Scans went out to test the size and just where it was coming in at. 

_"Colonel Rhodes, something has entered Earth's atmosphere. I am unable to reach Boss and you are the only one available."_ FRIDAY's voice startled Rhodey from the book he was reading. 

"Is it an attack? Or just Carol coming back?" He was already getting to his feet and jogging for the lab. 

_"Unclear. My sensors are only alerting me that something relatively large is entering the atmosphere."_ Rhodey slipped through the open glass doors and stopped in front of the table with the globe. He took in the markings but that wasn't what he was there for; despite how worrying they were. Several computers booted up and displayed the video feed of the cameras on SI satellites. 

"Okay, what the hell is that?" A large white spherical spaceship was descending upon the Earth. Smaller balls dispersed from the ship to fall through the atmosphere. 

_"Unknown. But may I suggest calling Boss?"_ Rhodey was quick to pull out his phone and pull up Tony's contact. It rang out. The next three times were the same result. 

"Get the Guardians. They've got the ship, they could possibly interfere until we get a hold of Tony." The world couldn't handle another alien scare, not so soon after Thanos; but there was nothing they could do stop it. People around the world were frightened of the machines coming down upon there sacred temples and old towns. The things of the world that were infested with magic. 

_"They have been alerted. Shall I put Quill through to you?"_ Rhodey was quick to accept the call. They needed to coordinate this before it got out of hand. 

"I hope you remember that our ship isn't equiped with weapons," Quill said. Outside the Compound all the remaining Guardians were entering the Benatar. They were used to space invaders and other aliens, so there was no nerves or even concern. Drax was even yawning. 

"I know. You just need to be a distraction and learn what you can about the ship. I'm still trying to get a hold of Tony and the others." Rhodey hit call again on his phone and hoped. 

"What good will that do? We could just get attacked and then we'd all be outta luck!" Quill strapped into the pilots chair and transferred the call to the ship's systems. Rocket muttered to himself while flicking switches and starting up the engines. The other three were uninterested in what was even happening. Living through one and a half apocalypses does that to some people. 

"You're the only one with a ship. Right now no one else can get up there fast enough to determine what is going on. Try to avoid getting shot at." Still no pick up. Rhodey didn't want to admit it but he was growing very worried. 

And still the call carried on. The Benatar lifted from the grass and started for the atmosphere. Where the other ship was still coming down; for a temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

|

_"My apologies, Mrs. Stark. Boss has a protocol in place that should a foreign ship enter Earth's airspace the Cabin be put in lock down."_ Pepper got up from the couch and turned down the TV. Little Morgan was taking a nap on the other end of the couch and Peter was sitting on the coffee table watching a movie. 

"Have you gotten word from Tony?" She watched warily as nanoparticles came down over the windows and no doubt the outside doors. Peter fidgeted on the table with the want to ask what was going on. 

_"I am unable to contact Boss and Colonel Rhodes is not any closer. With 'Home Alone' activated the lock down nanoparticles will not be removed until Boss disables them."_ Finally, Peter hopped off the table and joined Pepper at the dining table. A globe like that in the Compound appeared in the center. The number of red markers was growing. 

"What's happening? Does Mr. Stark need help?" He reached out a hand to spin the globe. With both hands he spread the globe to zoom in on New York. The further he went the smaller the red dot became. Until he was upon Greenwich Village, where the globe stopped moving in. The dot remained unmoving where he knew the Sanctum to be. 

_"A ship is lowering through the atmosphere. The Guardians are on their way to investigate. My apologies, Mr. Parker, but no one is allowed in or out while the Cabin is in lock down."_ Pepper put a hand on Peter's shoulder to offer comfort. Both were worried. The last time something like this happened half of all life disappeared. 

"Let us know when you or Rhodey get ahold of Tony, thank you FRIDAY." Pepper moved the teenager back to the couch. There was nothing they could at the moment even as they wished. 

|

Stephen pushed past Wong to open the door to Kamar-Taj. They couldn't waste time on stupid arguments, not with magic in the balance. Behind him Stark was trying to talk to someone. He ignored it all and pulled open the heavy door. Silence greeted him. Not a deathly quiet but close. 

He stepped through into the space where the Eye of Agamotto used to be held. All that was left was an empty pillar. Pushing away the ache that came with the sight, he made his way through the library for the doors. The dying rays of sunlight fell short. Shadows covered the courtyard where several novice and master sorcerers were doing warding spells. Above them in the darkening sky the same machines Stephen had seen at the Temple of Watoomb were coming towards them. Tubing and wires spread out like a spider's web over the entire temple, blocking what little light was left. 

The golden wards that sparked above the courtyard shuddered and sent sparks raining down. Stephen could feel the spells failing even as he tried to throw up some of his own. Whatever these machines were they were disrupting the magic flowing through the very veins of Kamar-Taj. He could feel the strain. From next to him a whining started before something bright white shot through the golden wards. It tore through one of the machines. He watched as it fell outside the temple. 

"Keep those shields up. Thor and I'll take care of those things." Stark said from next to him. He glanced over for a second only to find the Iron Man armor flying into the air. Lightning flashed along the sky as Thor joined them. 

The automatic lights of the temple started to turn on as the sky grew darker with clouds. Or what he thought were clouds. Stephen looked up to the sky to find a wave of something coming down upon them. In a flash of golden light the wards above the courtyard shattered. He fought for balance until the Cloak pulled him into the air. Coming to stand on the ground were several humanoid machines with a single man standing at the head of the group. But even the man was infused with machinery. 

"Behold the Empirikul! The power of science will burn away the lies and abnormalities of this world!" Stephen tightened his grip of the Axe. Down below the other sorcerers were fighting the humanoids and wolves that had joined their ranks. Up in the sky Thor and Stark were taking out the wall of machines draining magic. 

"You may beg for forgiveness, but that is not what you'll find from us." The man's voice was loud and grating. 

"You want us to beg?" Stephen allowed the Cloak to lower him before the man. Not close to be in harm's way but close enough to hear; right next to one of the trees in the courtyard. "Okay. I'm begging you stop being a fool before I have to rip out your soul and shove it down your throat." The anger burning in his chest forced its way into his words. 

Reaching out a hand for the tree, he felt his fingers brush the leaves. He dug for the magic within the plant and pushed for it to fight, fight for its home. Branches spread out for the man and roots grew up out of the stones to twine around his legs. 

"This place of unholiness has attacked the Imperator!" An electronic voice called out from somewhere before it was silenced. Stephen tried to keep his hold on this Imperator but something sliced through the vegetation growing around him. 

A fist came out to punch him only for Cloak to slide him backwards. He could here sounds of fighting around him, the crunch of metal above, and the booming of thunder. Lightning split the dark sky and allowed him to see in detail the man coming towards him. There was no fear in him for this monster. Only anger and disgust. With the Axe raised high, he dove to meet the Imperator head on. 

Which was a mistake because the man caught the blade and Stephen could sense the magic disappear from it. Before he could duck it, another punch was thrown and hit him square in the face. His fingers let go of the Axe and Cloak pulled him backwards again. The Imperator followed him with some type of laser shooting towards him. He rolled out of the way just in time and heard stones crumble behind him. This fight was in no way fair. And that means he has to play dirty to win. Even if it would cause lasting damage. He would do anything to keep magic flowing in the world. 

"Your world is being purified. The perversions practiced here will exist no longer to plague the rest of us." The Imperator started coming closer to him. 

"Don't let him near." Stephen whispered to Cloak. The red fabric flew off his shoulders to wrap around the approaching man, halting him in his tracks. 

With the man occupied, Stephen took a knee. He planted his hands on the stones beneath him and searched for the magic veins criss-crossing the Earth. White hot energy greeted his searching. It was the one rule sorcerers were never, ever, supposed to break. Never tamper with natural law and never steal from the Earth's defining magic. But he didn't see a way to win without it. Already he could feel the magic draining from around the world. Slipping from their grasp even before they could really put up a defense. He would do anything - absolutely anything to keep magic in the world. Even if it meant making some sacrifices. 

"No more! Magic's final hour has come."

He ignored the voice and chaos around him. The magic energy within the Earth was vicious and consuming. As he pulled it towards himself it carved out its place in his body and soul. This would no doubt kill him, but that was the price. The world would spin on without Stephen Strange but it would fall to wreckage without magic. And it seemed to realize that as well. 

"Really? Because magic says otherwise!" A fire unlike any he'd felt before swam through him. Around him the world fell away to leave behind a storm of red, orange, and pink. A storm of raw power that was burning him inside out. "You want magic wiped out. You want to destroy the very thing holding us together." No other sound reached his ears. Even the blood pumping in his veins was silenced by the roar of magic. "You seek to set fire to our saving grace. And I refuse to let this world burn!"

The energy was more in control than himself. It raged and lashed out through his body towards the thing trying to destroy it. Blow after blow, he could feel the magic hitting its target. Every ounce of his rage, pain, desperation, and grief the magic fed off of and allowed it to fuel the power being forced upon the Imperator. His body was burning and alight with pain, but he refused to stop until the thing under his assault stopped moving. He had never wished death upon anyone but this abomination didn't deserve life. The oath he took to become a doctor was meaningless in this fight. He would cause all the harm and death he could on these creatures and machines to keep magic in the world. And the world was agreeing with him. 

There would be no stopping him until these things stopped moving. Anything to keep magic safe. He didn't care if he died as long as magic was still in the world. Just as long as there was something still left. Even just an ounce that could slowly replenish itself within the safety of the Earth's core. Please, just let there be something somewhere. 

The energy surging in his body was slipping from him. Faster and faster than he could grasp onto. It crumbled beneath his hold. Wisps of color slipped through his fingers. The fire scorching him was being put out and smothered. Until there was nothing left. Nothing holding him or the world together anymore. Through the weeping of his soul he could feel himself fall to the broken stones. His body no longer able to hold itself up and he no longer wished it too. There was nothing left to keep him conscious or even fighting. The fierce fire of energy flowing through the Earth flickered into a void of emptiness. Magic was gone. 

|

Tony dove for another machine while avoiding the wire tentacles trying to wrap around him. FRIDAY displayed a screen off to the side of where the Guardians were fighting high in the atmosphere and an open line to Rhodey at the Compound. It took stepping through the weird door portal to connect back with his AI. But he got things sorted out while Strange and Wong joined the other sorcerers. The initial start of the fight was quick with his repulsor blast. Now, at least ten minutes in he still couldn't see an end. 

Lightning streaked across the darkening sky as Thor struck down a large group of the tentacle machines. Tony had FRIDAY taking readings and scans of everything as he fought. The machines went down easy once he got past the many wires trying to kill him. But no matter how many he took out there were still more. Already it was hard to see the fighting happening below. He could find several sorcerers going against robots and wolves but he was still searching out Strange. But every time he went to spot the man or the Cloak another machine would block his sight. He cut through a tentacle trying to grab him when something flashed on his HUD. A large energy spike. 

A blinding burst of red shot through the field of machines. It fried everything in its path; even got close enough that he could feel the heat through the armor. He followed the light show down to the courtyard below. The storm of color swirled between human and robot, lighting up the entire area. It struck down the machines but the concentrated energy was in the middle of the courtyard. Where chunks of stone and dirt climbed in a swarm around something. Or someone. Tony could just barely pick out a familiar figure within the storm. Every ounce of energy was pouring out from Strange and into the machines around them. The storm of reds, oranges, and pinks seeking out everything opposing it and tearing it to pieces. A rage unlike any Tony had ever seen attacked. 

Through the rubble, Tony watched the energy lift Strange high into the air. Down below him was a man taking the brunt of the assault. All noise fell away to the rushing of energy around everyone. Then the machines started to hum. Tony could feel the charge in the air even through the suit encasing his body. It built and built until it reached its peak. He went to ask FRIDAY what she was picking up when the energy down below started to dissipate. The brilliant storm washed away little by little; and fear started to build in his chest. A last ditch effort of fight came from the magic. It flared a white that blocked his view of Strange and the other man. Then it was gone. 

The machines around him started to float back into the sky and Thor chased after them. In the courtyard nothing moved. A giant crater sat in the middle of destroyed robots and bloody wolf bodies. The sorcerers didn't move. Down in the crater the man of white armor climbed out and one of the tentacle machines grabbed him. Tony would have chased after them if he hadn't caught sight of the figure still in the crater. 

Strange laid in the bottom of the mess surrounded by dust, stone, and blood. Curled up in the fetal position, so tight in a ball that he looked part of the dirt. Fear hit Tony hard in the chest and dropped him down to the ground. At the edge of the hole was a bundle of lifeless red fabric that he knew to be the Cloak. Not even a twitch came from it. He forced his attention away from it and slid down into the mess. FRIDAY brought up a scan of Strange with his vitals. There was nothing amiss that the scans picked up, only an overlay of orange where his joints were and low oxygen levels. Well there were marks where the wolves had gotten a hold of him but nothing serious. The only thing was was that Strange was passed out with no signs of waking just yet. 

"Stark, is he alright?" Wong's voice came from above him. Tony let the nanoparticles fade from his head as he reached out to roll Strange over.

"Passed out and no doubt in a shit ton of pain, but nothing life threatening. Is Clifford gone?" He looked up to Wong to find the Cloak draped over his arms, still completely lifeless. 

"Magic is gone from the Earth. Including that bestowed upon relics." Tony could hear the defeat in his voice; that no doubt every magic user was feeling. He was definitely feeling it trying to sink its claws in him. Pushing away the feeling, he slipped his arms under Strange's body and shifted him to rest against his armor. Then he lifted them both out of the crater to join Wong. The other sorcerers were moving around the courtyard and disappearing into the buildings. 

"What're they doing?" He asked, curious as to where they were going. Wong set the Cloak over Strange's body before surveying the area. 

"This temple was the nexus point of magic on Earth. Without it, this place could fall to ruin. They are more than likely preparing for departure." Something crossed Wong's face that Tony couldn't determine. But if he had to guess it was probably grief. "The only places left for us are the Sanctums. Many of us will wish to remain behind to take care of what they can to keep the buildings standing. The rest of us will seek refuge. Magic is what held this Order together."

"I can have a quinjet flown out. Help get you guys out of here and wherever you need to go." It was a cheap offer in the face of everything they lost. But he doesn't know what else to offer. These people had just lost everything. They dedicated their lives to magic and now it was just gone. 

"I cannot say no. Our means of travel are gone." Wong turned away from the destroyed courtyard to face Tony. His eyes fell upon the form of Strange. Who looked so small curled up in Tony's arms and against the armor. The limp Cloak covering him only added to the depressing sight. "Take him with you. Keep him safe and out of prying eyes. He is going to be at his worst when he wakes up." The grief and sadness were starting to edge on Wong's voice. 

"I will." It felt like a promise on his tongue. One that he knew he couldn't break. Strange's life probably relied on it. 


	8. Chapter 8

The arrival of two quinjets was a somber affair for the sorcerers. Tony still held Strange's body and Thor had come back to join them on the ground without good news. Whatever those machines were they got back to the main ship and that ship had left the atmosphere according to FRIDAY. There was little word from the Guardians other than that they were heading back to the Compound empty handed. Rhodey was giving him updates on the world around them. It was falling to pieces at the seems apparently. 

An old volcano in Peru was erupting with blood that Tony didn't even know existed. Stonehenge was crumbling in England, Machu Picchu was heading that same path as were several other temples and old monuments around the world. FRIDAY was gathering reports of mysterious happenings around the globe and informing him of them in real time. Whales along the shores are beaching themselves in numbers never seen before. Dead birds are pouring of the clouds above the Taj Mahal. Swarms of burning butterflies falling upon Japan. There was so much happening all at once. Much more than he thought was going to happen if they lost. And he just knew that the reports coming in were the tip of the iceberg. 

Thor may not have said anything but Tony could see the exhaustion coloring his face. The god was connected to magic, Tony just didn't know how much or from where. But he knew that the loss of magic on Earth was affecting him. Affecting everyone in Kamar-Taj. He still had Strange in his arms and the man was so pale he could've been mistaken for a piece of paper. The other sorcerers were dirty and so obviously tired. Even Wong's stoic mask was falling away to reveal the despair everyone was feeling. 

"You coming with us back to New York?" He watched as a few sorcerers followed after Wong into one of the quinjets. Several others went for the second one that was heading for London and Hong Kong. Thor stood by his side with Stormbreaker held tightly in his left hand. 

"No my friend. I need to check on New Asgard and my people." Thor looked around the dark courtyard then up to the black sky stretching out above them. The sun had only set a couple hours ago and their fight barely lasted half an hour. They were defeated so quickly. 

"Alright, check in with us when you get there." Tony gave the god a nod and would've put a hand on his shoulder if his arms weren't already filled. 

"You have my word." And with that Thor was gone into the night. Holding back a sigh, Tony joined Wong and a few others in the quinjet. 

He moved to put Strange down on a bench while the pilot started up the jet. It wasn't a long flight to New York so he sat next to him to wait. FRIDAY was still bringing in reports from around the world and none of them were good. Not growing worse than a few destroyed buildings and so far no casualties. It was unlikely to stay that way though. He sighed and put his head in his hands. The world was falling to pieces around them with magic gone. He hadn't realized how much it held the Earth together until now. They were going to have figure out a way to get it back before it's too late to save everything. 

It was quiet for the entire flight. Nobody knew what to say or even had the motivation to start a conversation. When they got into New York Tony had the pilot hover over the Sanctum. Everyone but Strange was down on the roof and then into the building. Tony had to get everything needed for Strange since Wong didn't want him back in the Sanctum just yet. Which he understood. It would just serve to break the man down further with guilt. Pretty much anything at this point was going to hinder Strange. Even being around people, which meant keeping him out of the Compound where the Guardians were. The remaining Avengers were going to be in and out of the Compound for the next few months as they worked around the globe. They were going to need to do disaster relief with how much was happening. 

Once in the Sanctum Tony eyed the broken window then the dead wolves on the second and first floors. He was going to have a clean up crew come by, not only here but the other Sanctums and Kamar-Taj if he was allowed. Bypassing the mess, he went down the hall for where he knew Strange's room was. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours that he wouldn't be sure if Strange had even taken his medication. When he pushed open the door he found the room a mess. The bed wasn't made and the comforter was pooling on the floor. A pair of boots were in the middle of the room with socks lying on top of them. Some clothes were strewn across a chair in the corner and a few pieces were on the ground. Tony glanced around warily, it hadn't been this dirty when he came by yesterday or at least he hadn't noticed. He stepped around everything to where a dresser was pressed against a wall.

The act of packing clothes for someone else had come easy after having a kid. He had gotten used to putting away Morgan's stuff long ago. Picking out clothes for Strange wasn't hard but he avoided anything to do with those blue robes he favored. It came as a surprise to find actual clothes in the drawers. Well, there were only pants and things, his shirts were in the closet. Tony didn't pack that much before going around the bed for the night stand. Strange's pill box was sitting on the top with a glass pipe and lighter. He put all of it in the bag before opening the drawer to grab the actual pill bottles within. There were four bottles and a bag that smelled the marijuana. All of them found their way into the bag. Then he was zipping it up and leaving the room. Strange could deal with the shoes he was wearing for a while. 

Back in the foyer he found Wong and some woman standing there. The woman had reddish-brown hair and was dressed in nurse scrubs. Tony cleared his throat while moving closer to them. 

"Tony Stark?" The surprise in her voice didn't go unnoticed. "Do you know what's happening? Wong won't tell me where Stephen is, so I can't ask him." She looked down at the bodies and shuddered. 

"Uh, I don't know exactly what's going on but there's probably a reason Beyoncé hasn't said anything." The nickname barely got a look from Wong. Tony sighed and fought the urge to run a hand down his face. He shifted the bag slung over his shoulder and stepped around one of the bodies. "And Strange is out of commission right now."

"Is he hurt? What happened?" The obvious worry and concern in her voice warmed Tony's chest just a smidge. At least Strange had people that cared for him. 

"He's not in any danger. Sleeping off a magic hangover." His attempt at a joke fell short. The woman narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. "Look, he's fine. A little battered but fine."

"I'm Christine Palmer." Her hand came out with her introduction. Tony shook it gently as he tried to figure out what she was trying to do. "As a doctor, I feel the need to check on him myself." There it was. 

"Strange isn't here, Palmer." Wong entered the conversation with his bland tone. Christine turned a look to him and opened her mouth to argue. 

"Look, Dr Palmer," Tony started, earning Christine's attention again. "We're in a bit of a rush and I hate to kick you out, but I'm sure you've got patients to save."

"More than you could know." She seemed to think for a moment before sighing. "Stephen has no self-preservation skills, so wherever he is, keep him safe. I don't need him stumbling into my ER dying, again." Something crossed her face that made her frown. "He's due for another doctor's appointment in a couple weeks. It's already scheduled, make sure he gets there alright?"

"Alright. I'll take care of him." Yet another promise on his tongue. One that he would make sure he followed through with again. "Bye." He gave her a fingered wave as she turned for the door. She stepped around a tail before slipping out of the broken doors back into the streets. "I wanted to ask if I could send clean up crews to take care of this mess. Here and wherever else there was a fight."

"It would be appreciated. We are few in number already and no doubt fewer after this. The help is rather needed at the moment." Wong pulled something out of a pocket and held it out. A sleek phone that he recognized as Strange's sat there, like an offering. He picked it up and stuffed it into a pocket on the bag. "You'll find the address of all three Sanctums and Kamar-Taj in there."

"Okay, I'll get everything set up when I get back to the Compound." At the glare that Wong sported, he carried on. "I'll take Strange to the Cabin. No one else is there but Pep and Morgan. He'll be fine."

"No, he won't be. Not for a long while." The unspoken worry bled into the air. They both knew Strange was in for a hell of his own making when he wakes up. If he wants to wake up, that is. 

Tony held back a sigh and just gave Wong a nod before heading up the stairs. The quinjet was still hovering above the roof so it was easy for him to get back inside. As they took off for his home, he went over to Strange. Who was still sleeping with the Cloak draped over him. The scratches on his face had stopped bleeding long ago but his blood still covered his pale skin. There were even dark patches on his robes where a wolf no doubt got a hold of him. It left for a defeated image. He had never seen Strange look so beaten and broken. Look so small and lifeless. The sight had something aching in his chest. He sat down next to the man and resisted the urge to brush the curls off his face. Strange probably wouldn't take kindly to his fussing. 

The flight to the Cabin was short. Tony had Strange back in his arms with the Cloak hanging down in a lifeless curtain. With the bag slung over his shoulder he exited the jet and let the pilot get back to the Compound, where they were going to be taking relief aid to Nepal. He went up the porch and stopped at the lock down in place over the building. The pride at it working was overshadowed by why it was in place. He eyed the metal while trying to determine how he was going to disarm it with Strange taking up his hands. 

"FRIDAY, gonna need you to disable the nano-particles. My hands are a bit full." A camera blinked on above the door. 

_"Of course, Boss. Might I suggest you clean up Doctor Strange once you get inside?"_ The metal started to recede back into the seals it came from. 

"Already on the list. We're both a mess." Tony maneuvered his hands enough to pull open the screen door before kicking it open with his foot. He used the same foot to knock on the door he couldn't open. It barely took a second before it was being swung open and he was met by Pepper. Her eyes first went to him then down to Strange, and the worry became more prominent on her face. 

"Oh, god. Get inside." She stepped back to allow him in. He was tempted to put Strange on the couch but knew it was best to put him in the guest room. "What happened? To him and everything else." Tony glanced over to the table to find a globe up and spinning slowly to show the multitude of red dots covering it. There was so much more than he knew about. 

"We lost, Pep. We lost hard." As if his words were breaking a spell, Strange shivered in his arms. Pepper came closer to study him closely. "That thing I was talking about, what I was doing with Strange in the Village, the thing with killing of magic? Well, it happened. These machines and wolves attacked and we lost to 'em. Magic's gone from the Earth."

"Is that why everything is falling apart?" She nodded over to the table where FRIDAY brought up reports of happenings around the world. "What happened to him, though? He looks terrible." A hand was lifted to push curls away from Strange's forehead and rested there for a moment. "He's burning up."

"I know that something terrible just happened," Pepper gave him a look that he ignored, "but you should've seen the light show he put on. The readings FRIDAY took were astronomical compared to the ones of just him on a normal day. I think FRIDAY took a recording of it. But damn. Whatever he did was like a slaughter of everything around him. No doubt that that is what's made him pass out." Tony looked at Strange's pale face and sighed. "And we still failed. The man that was leading the assault walked away from the fight without a scratch. While Strange was left in a damn crater."

"Let's get him upstairs and cleaned up before the kids see him like this." Pepper started up the stairs with him following behind. Down the hall they went for the last room on the opposite end of Morgan's. Tony set Strange down on the bed and moved the Cloak to the window seal to be out of the way. 

While Pepper got the man out of his dirty robes, Tony went for the bathroom. He grabbed the first aid kit and a wet wash rag to clean Strange's face. Back in the room he set the kit on the bed next to Pepper, who was sitting on the edge of the bed surveying the holes in Strange's shoulders. Most of the blood was trapped in his clothes so there wasn't as much to wipe away. The rag was handed to Pepper while he opened the kit to pull out the disinfectant and cotton balls. They weren't the best but Morgan complained about everything else used. He eyed the wounds before soaking a cotton ball and dabbing at them. Not even a twitch came from the man. While Pepper cleaned away the blood Tony cleaned Strange's wounds before wrapping them in bandages. None of them needed stitches but a few had butterfly bandages placed over them. He stepped back from the bed and gathered up the used cotton balls then the kit. 

"FRIDAY, take a scan. I want to make sure he's still stable." A pair of glasses materialize on his face. FRIDAY did as asked and soon a scan of Strange was appearing over the man. The red aura surrounding him for the last few scans was gone but other than the dull overlay of orange at his joints nothing was wrong. It was as if he was just sleeping. 

_"I detect nothing wrong, Boss. Doctor Strange should awaken in a few hours."_ FRIDAY's voice filled the quiet of the room. Pepper pulled the covers over Strange before joining Tony's side. He couldn't help feeling that Strange wasn't going to be waking in the mentioned time-frame. The man had been battered and beaten down. They were lucky he was even alive much less in one piece and seemingly fine. If it had been anyone else, Tony was sure they'd be dead. The power and energy surge around Strange would've been enough to fry someone. And yet the man was still breathing. 

"Let's leave him for now. The kids are no doubt worried about what's happened." Pepper put a hand on his shoulder before going for the door. Tony let the sunglasses fall back into the nano-casing while turning to follow her. 

The cotton balls were thrown away and the first aid kit put back. He sat down at the table and started putting out all the information he could into getting clean up and relief crews out to the worst of the damage. There was a lot to pick up after. It wasn't long though before he heard the rushing of feet above him then down the stairs. Morgan leaped into his lap while Peter nearly slid into the table. Both babbled on with questions while Pepper joined them. 

"Alright, alright, pipe down." He shifted Morgan so she was actually sitting on his knee. Peter dropped down into the chair next to him with a distinct look of fear. "I'm just fine, so no need to worry."

"What happened, Daddy?" Morgan looked up at him with wide brown eyes. He nearly sighed as he tried to sort his thoughts. 

"A lot, Moguna. But it's nothing that you should worry your head about." A pout came to her face and her arms crossed. "I'm gonna be working for a while which means, I want you helping Mom in my stead."

"Define helping."

"Keeping your room clean or I'll sell all your toys." Morgan giggled at the threat and wiggled out of his lap. She ran for Pepper who picked her up and started for the kitchen. Which left Tony and Peter by themselves. 

"What's really happening, Mr. Stark?" Tony rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. He turned to face Peter and tossed the globe over to him. 

"Magic's gone, kid. All of it and now the world's apart." He pulled up the reports and allowed Peter to scan through them. "We still don't know what they were called, but these machines killed magic I'm pretty sure. The ship that FRIDAY locked the Cabin down for is what brought them here. FRIDAY, bring up any footage you got during the fight." It was easier to show Peter what had happened. A clear picture appeared in front of them, starting from when he shot down the first machine. They watched in silence until it came to the when the power storm started. 

"Whoa! What caused that?" The video zoomed in on where Tony had seen Strange in the middle of the energy and the man it was being forced upon. Even hours after and it was still impressive to see. "Doc did that? Where is his now? Is he okay?" Peter almost turned to look at him until the light show ended. All that was left of the video was the man in white armor walking away while Strange did not. "Is he- Did he-?"

"Strange is fine, Pete. He's upstairs currently." Peter nearly shot up from his seat before he thought better of it. Tony sighed and waited for questions to come. 

"What happens now? Is there a way to get magic back? The Earth isn't looking so good right now." Both of them turned back to the growing reports. Parts of the Great Wall of China were crumbling, the Easter Island heads no longer stood, several historic sights started turning to dust around the world. There was just so much damage happening. Tony couldn't hope to keep it all together but still felt the pressure to help as much as he could. Another report came in about water levels rising along the coasts of Cuba and the eruption of a volcano in Hawaii. It just kept building. 

"I don't know, kid, I really don't."

|

Pepper watched Tony leave in the Audi for the Compound with a frown on her face. Even when Thanos snapped his fingers the world hadn't been this much of a mess; the world itself, not the civilizations and people. From the reports she had read from around the world, everything was falling apart at the seems. It seemed everything was connected and held together by magic. She turned away from the window and stared at the stairs for a moment. 

Morgan and Peter were currently playing outside. Well, they were getting dirty by the lake edge. She knew they were fine and nothing was wrong with them. Her worry was for the man currently passed out in the guest bedroom. When Tony had appeared in the doorway with Strange in his arms she nearly had a heart attack. The man had looked dead. Even after getting him cleaned up he still didn't look any better. She had barely known the man for a day and she had only seen him in pain; even when he was playing with the kids he still looked vaguely uncomfortable. Whatever had been wrong with him was most likely nothing compared to what had just happened. From what she knew Strange's entire life revolved around magic and now it was just gone while he had been trying to protect it. She couldn't hope to imagine the amount of guilt he was going to have when he woke up. 

With a sigh, she started up the stairs. It had only been an hour but she felt the need to check on him. Up in the room he was exactly as they left him. Covers pulled over his body and sleeping, nothing had even remotely changed. She was about to leave again when she caught sight of the bag Tony had brought with him. Thinking about it now, it made sense. If Strange was to be staying with them for awhile - which she had no doubt he would be - then he was going to need clothes. She picked up the bag and debated about putting his things away. What would be the harm? 

Inside the bag was not just clothes. A pill box and bottles sat on top of the clothes along with a smaller bag that smelt heavily of weed. She had never had any problems with the drug but she cautious to have it around. Why would Strange need it? A glass pipe and lighter were tucked away as well. Probably best to ask Tony later. She set everything on the bed side table before moving to put the clothes away in the closet. There wasn't a lot but that was to be expected. They didn't know how long he was staying nor exactly what he'd want to wear. With the last item put away she checked the pockets to make sure she didn't miss anything and found a phone. There was nothing special about and she put it next to the other things on the table. She put the bag in the closest before making her way back to Strange. 

He looked so pale against the dark sheets. And oh so young. How old he actually was, she didn't know but he didn't look a day over thirty, possibly younger. The curls hanging over his forehead only served to soften out his features. Even the silver streaks at his temples did nothing to age him. Pepper sighed and checked the scratches down the right side of his face. They weren't deep thankfully and weren't red. The amount of the blood that had covered his face was far too much for the injuries he had. She didn't know what they had been fighting but she could guess a lot of the blood wasn't his. Even his clothes had been covered in it. She already had plans to throw them away. 

Brushing back his hair one more time, she got up and left the room. Strange would be fine. 

|

It hurt. Oh god, did it hurt. Every piece of him was on fire and screaming with pain. But it was nothing compared the emptiness in and around him. There was no humming in the air, no warmth in his soul, no flutter of energy, no magic. There was nothing. The only thing he knew was the empty void in the Earth. It was all gone. They had lost - he had lost. Lost the one thing that kept his life moving. Earth had lost the very essence of itself. The entire feel of the world was different around him. Nothing of significance was still standing. All that was left was dust and rubble around the world; he could see it. 

With his third eye open he could see what used to be the plain that magic existed within. There was nothing left. The black and white around him was nothing but ruins. The one thing that didn't take magic to do was the one thing he wished he couldn't do. It let him see just how much he had fucked the world over. The fires and barren wastelands of the other dimensions made so much more sense to him now. Without magic their worlds had literally burned from the inside out. A part of him wished that this one would do the same with him. That it would find a way to take revenge on him for not trying harder, for not fighting more for magic. That it would set him ablaze and let him burn with his failure. That it would take pity on him and kill him for his mistakes. 

For his many mistakes. 

Opening his eyes, he stared up at a wood ceiling. He knew he wasn't in a Sanctum or Kamar-Taj, but he couldn't bring himself to care. What was the use of caring anymore? Ignoring the pain eating away at him, he turned on his side and pulled his knees up to his chest. There was a window across from him. With something red pooled on the seal; something that he knew. An ache unlike any he'd felt for a long time built in his chest. This wasn't the first time he had lost someone. But, god, it didn't stop the way his eyes and throat burned with tears. Or the way he clutched a pillow to his face and cried. Or how he used it to muffle the sounds of his sobs. He was used to losing things, he wasn't used to losing friends or family or parts of himself despite how often it happened. It only made it worse when it was all three in one. 

Cloak had been with him for longer than anyone or thing ever. It was his closest friend. That had done so much for him and more. Everything about his life involved Cloak, every single thing. He would've been dead a thousand times over without it there to save him or keep him breathing or even just making sure he was awake. And now it was gone. Because he had failed to protect magic. 

The pillow dropped away from his face as his sobs quieted down. Tears still fell down his face but he ignored them. What was the point? He watched the light from the sun fade away from the sky without making an effort to move. Even if he wanted too, which he didn't, he wasn't even sure if he could. Without Cloak's help he'd never be able to a hold a cup or walk as he was. Every inch of him hurt. He hadn't realized just how much magic went into keeping him functioning. Even on the worst days he was at least able to move around in bed. But now he couldn't find the energy to just roll over. To cut his line of sight from the lifeless fabric of his companion. 

When the last light in the sky disappear he finally forced himself to move. As much as he didn't want to get up he had to use the bathroom. His stiff fingers peeled the covers back from his body and he didn't bother to fight the shiver. Someone had undressed him. Instead of doing anything about it he just inched to the edge of the bed with the comforter wrapped around his shoulders. The amount of time it took him to get to his feet was annoyingly long. He had to hold himself up on the walls to limp for the door then down the hall outside. There was nothing in the hallway that caught his attention until a door opened. A little dark haired girl stepped out and froze at the sight of him; as he did the same just a few steps away. 

"Doc! You're awake!" Morgan bounded up to him. He put more support on the wall keeping him standing and bit back a sigh. "Mommy and Daddy have been worried." Instead of saying anything he just watched her. He couldn't find an ounce of energy to form words. She'd seemed to realize that as well. "They're downstairs. I got sent to the bathroom to wash my hands for dinner. Do you want me to get Daddy for you?" 

He really didn't want anything other than to use the bathroom and go back to sleep. But he gave the girl a small nod to get her away from him. There was no part of him that wanted to be around other people. Morgan said she'd be right back before racing for the set of stairs a few feet away. He didn't bother listening for her as he continued on for the bathroom; now that he knew where it was. 

Holding his hands under the hot water was easing the ache. He was leaned on the sink and hardly holding himself up with the black comforter still around his shoulders. The sound of foot steps up the stairs and then outside the door had him sighing. He dried off his hands before shutting off the water. There was nothing in him wanting to face Stark at the moment, or ever. But he pulled the blanket tighter around his body and leaned on the doorway while opening the door. It swung inwards and let him see Stark standing outside of it. The relief on his face wasn't hard to spot even as he tried to hide it from him. 

"Look, I know you probably feel like shit." Understatement of the year. "But do you think you could make it downstairs? You've been passed out for three days, so you need to eat something and take your meds." The gentle concern in Stark's voice made him want to curl up and die. He didn't deserve any concern after what he'd done. What he'd failed to do. "I can see those thoughts. Suck it up, we're not going to let you die on us." Well that was just rude. And entirely unnecessary; he didn't want to be kept alive. 

"Come on, Merlin. I'll help you downstairs then bring you your drugs." Stark caught his arm in a gentle grip and slung it over his shoulder. Stephen frowned but didn't fight the help. He doubted he could even get back to the room at this point. His knees were fighting him every step of the way and he was sure he would've fallen if not for Stark holding him up. 

Just going down the stairs was torture. Every single moment was torture at this point; and it was the least of what he deserved. Maybe his broken body was part of the punishment for failing. If so, then it needed to step up its game and just end him already. He sighed and stumbled down the last couple steps. Stark cursed but not a him. It did nothing, would never fix anything or stop what was happening. Momentary words. Maybe it would better if the words were aimed at him. They might have meaning then. He bit back another sigh and let Stark get him to a chair. There were two others with him but he didn't quite care. Didn't even care for whatever words Stark had said before he was leaving. 

Someone was probably talking to him. He could hear their voice, just not what they were saying. It entered one ear and out the other. What did it matter? There was no point in him even being down here. He just wants to go back to sleep. At least asleep he wouldn't have to face a world without magic. A world that was falling apart around him and would continue to do so. It would probably stop turning in a week or two without magic holding it together. The things that magic held together are most likely already fallen and the people relying on magic. His thoughts strayed for a moment to other sorcerers. All of them dedicated their lives to magic and the protection of this world. Then the ones that left the Order. To Mordo and Pangborn. And every other person that used magic to keep their bodies functioning like he did. How many of them were dead? How many were dying? Just how many people did he forsake when he lost? 

"Come on, Merlin." Something was pressed into his hand. But he fixated on the nickname. Merlin. He wasn't a wizard, goddammit. He wasn't even a sorcerer anymore. 

"Don't." The word slipped out before he could stop it. He opened his eyes to stare down at the pill box resting in his shaking hands. "Please." Lifting his gaze, he found the Stark family watching him. It made him want to disappear. He didn't deserve their sympathy or concern. 

"Alright." Stark sat down next to him and pushed a glass of water closer to him. He didn't want to take his medicine but he also knew that it wouldn't kill him if he didn't. So why live in pain when he could help it? The last lid of the box was the only one with pills still in it. It was popped open and the pills dumped into his palm. He didn't have enough hand strength to lift a cup and Cloak was gone. He couldn't do this by himself. A burn started behind his eyes that he fought down. His head fell into his hands as he pushed away the grief trying to drown him. Cloak was gone and he was left alone. And it was his fault. The pill box dug into his scalp and had him letting it fall to the ground beside him; and the pills in the other hand following suit. 

"Stephen?" A soft hand touched one of his. The tears he were fighting tried harder to escape him, along with a sob clawing at his throat. He couldn't do this. Not without Cloak by his side. Not without magic. They were his saving grace but now they were gone. And he needed them. "Will you let us help you?" He needed help, would always need help now. Just not the help that he wanted, not the help that would keep him alive, that would help him survive and live. His hands fell from his hair and back down to his lap as he opened his eyes to stare at the floor. "Okay." The hand that was touching his moved for the table. He lifted his head enough to see Potts pick up the glass and bring it closer to him. 

It was quiet as a metal hand pressed the dropped pills into his open palm. The glass was held out for him to grab and when he did Potts moved to hold the bottom in case it dropped. He avoided her eyes as he tossed the pills into his mouth before trying to lift the glass. It didn't tremble or splash water out with Potts' help. Nothing was said when the glass was put back on the table and she left his side. He kept his head down with his hands locked together in his lap. As embarrassing as it was he didn't have the strength to give a shit. There was talk around him but it just slipped past him. He didn't want to be down there or anywhere really. Everywhere he knew would only serve to remind him what he had lost and failed to keep safe. The world was at a loss for what to do and so was he. 


End file.
